Life Lingers After Death
by SilverFang88
Summary: When Naruto died at the Valley of the End, he met someone who would change the course of his afterlife. Now, he's changed into something he never wanted to become; a demon, a monster...a Hollow.
1. Beginnings

Yo, this is my second story and its been something that has been in the back of my mind since the day I decided to start writing fanfiction. Though, I'm not an overly huge fan of Bleach, I like it enought to make an attempt of a crossover fic. Also, I'll need a good beta reader since, I don't want to hassle Masked Cridick since he's already beta reading Fox with a Dog's Fang. But anyway I hope you all enjoy my newest story. And sorry for the short chapter I promise to increase the word count for my next one.

"Talking" Normal

'Talking' Thinking

**"Talking" **Hollow Talking

**'Talking' **Hollow Thinking

I don't own Naruto or Bleach and that's all I have to say.

* * *

Today, it was raining, harder than usually compared to how it was mere hours ago. But, it wasn't the rain that was discouraging to the people gathered at the gate of Konoha. You see, earlier that day, a team of four Genin lead by a new Chuunin were sent to retrieve a rouge shinobi by the name of Uchiha Sasuke.

It was then that things went from bad to worse as the team had encountered the Sound Four, said to be Orochimaru's top bodyguards along with a fifth member who was supposed to be Orochimaru's next body if he had not had a fatal disease. Each individual member of the team had been forced to fend for their lives to defeat these rather, disturbing opponents with the help of a team of Suna ninja who aided in the defeat of three of these opponents.

But, tragedy stuck with the fifth member who was the sole person who was capable of bringing back the traitor. It was Kakashi who had found the body of young Uzumaki Naruto, lying face down in a puddle of his own blood with Sasuke's slashed Hitai-ate lying beside him. It was with a heavy heart that he brought back the orange clad ninja to the village to inform the Hokage of a mission failure and a KIA report.

Once he arrived, he found Haruno Sakura waiting at the gates with a hopeful look in her eyes, only to turn into horror as she took notice to Naruto's lifeless frame. At first, she believed that he was joking with her and that he would wake up and gives her that stupid grin he always had on his face.

It was a harsh smack of reality that made her realize that her teammate, the baka as she always called him, was dead in her sensei's arms. With a deafening scream to the heavens, she fell to her knees while sobbing uncontrollably while her tears were being washed away by the heavy rain.

Soon, more came and realized what had happened before giving the deceased boy a small prayer to heaven before leaving the student and sensei to greave for the boy's untimely demise. Some of the civilians who were happy of the boy's demise cheered for his death only to be silenced by Kakashi who had stuck one of them with a Raikiri to his chest. Later when asked why he did it, he would only say that they had broken the Sandaime's law about Naruto even though the man hadn't said a thing about the Kyuubi, but no one was foolish enough to question the man…in all likely hood the 2nd most powerful ninja in the village while he was grieving.

Eventually, Tsunade had found out about Naruto's death and it was then, the Hokage had pronounced Uchiha Sasuke, an A-rank missing nin with a bounty of 500,000 Ryu for his carcass whether it be dead or alive.

At first the council had testified that the Uchiha didn't deserve such a high ranking and should be lowered to at least a B or C rank missing nin. The council was almost immediately silenced after Tsunade punched one of the civilian councilman's head clean off his shoulders before stating that her word was final. Of course they could have ordered her to step down as Hokage after that, but they didn't dare risk the wrath of a **very** pissed off Tsunade who could take them all on with little to no effort.

All the while, many of the Rookie Nine along with Team Gai, as they had come to be known, took Naruto's death very hard. Poor Hinata had almost committed suicide if it had not been for her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, who had stopped her before the deed could be done. All in all, it was the day many would morn and the day even more would never forget. Even the heavens above where shedding tears for the fallen hero as the rain continued to pour down upon the village known as Konoha.

But, back at the Valley of the End, the rain wasn't even touching the person who was being mourned. The said boy was simply sitting at the foot of the statue of the Shodaime while toying with the chain that was connected to a plate in the center of his chest.

At first he was freaking out to the point that it wasn't even funny. He shouted for what felt like hours before finally calming down enough to let it all soak in. He was dead, he was stuck on this damn chain that was somehow connected to the ground, and he was alone again. So it was with a sigh, that he picked a spot and waited to see what would happen to him next.

Beginning to feel bored he glanced around at his surroundings and whistled to himself at the destruction that was caused due to his battle with Sasuke. The surrounding landscape had many small craters embedded in the valley walls while the small pieces of land in which the two statues stood on had a giant fissure along with two holes in the bottom of Madara's and the Shodaime's feet.

"Man, I didn't think we would do this much damage to this place. I guess we really were pulling out all the stops after all." Said the boy aloud while he continued to fiddle with the chain.

Suddenly, a pair of sliding wooden doors appeared in front of him before opening to show a blinding white light. Soon, a figure stepped out and was wearing a white shitagi, a black kosode and hakama, and a white hakama-himo. When the light died down enough, Naruto looked at the figure's face to see that it was a man with short brown hair and light brown eyes while sporting a pair of black rimmed glasses on his face.

The said man stared at Naruto with a smile as he started walking closer towards the boy who was now standing in a Taijutsu stance as he prepared to fight off the mysterious stranger.

"No need to be so hasty young one." Said the man politely as he continued to walk towards Naruto. "I'm only here to help you get away from this place."

"How do you plan to do that four-eyes?" asked Naruto while still in his fighting stance.

The man only seemed ignore his question as he continued to walk towards him before unsheathing his sword. Now, Naruto was fully prepared to fight for his life…**again**…even if he was already dead.

"Please relax, I only plan to cut off the chain that binds you here." Stated the man before slicing it off near the top leaving only four links to the chain left.

Naruto looked back at the man before cheering happily at finally being free. He glanced back at the man who had just cut the chain while sporting a huge grin on his face. Had he looked down, he would have noticed that the chain links suddenly grew mouths and started to eat away at each other before leading upwards towards the plate.

"Ne, ne, what are you anyway?" asked Naruto excitedly. "And am I going to heaven now?"

The man looked down at the young blond before smiling eerily which caused the hairs on the back of Naruto's neck to stand on end. "I am a Shinigami, and no you will not be going to heaven."

"What; why not? I don't deserve to go to hell just because of some damn Kitsune sealed inside me!"

"Indeed you don't, but I never said you would be going to hell either, now did I?" answered the man before looking down to see that the corrosion had finally ended. "And now, its time to take my leave from here boy. If you live long enough, I might meet you again one day."

Before Naruto could even think of responding, he felt blinding pain erupt from him as the seal that was still on his stomach began to burn away at his flesh. Soon he was screaming loudly while more and more power began to burst from the seal. Eventually, he noticed an outline of a fox appear through the massive waves of energy that was escaping from him before it flew towards his face and latching on him like a leach.

Soon more pain came forth as the skin of his face now felt like it was melting off him. He glance up despite the pain to see that the brown haired Shinigami had walked back into the strange doors while smiling that same amused smile as he went.

Gasping, he felt another burst of unfathomable pain strike him before feeling his body beginning to change. His fingers, where now growing longer and his nails grew sharper and his body mass continued to grow while ripping his tattered orange clothing into shreds do to his increasing size. He could feel something changing with his face but was in too much pain to know or care what was happening. And after another ten minutes of blinding pain, it stopped which made him groan in unprecedented agony.

He slowly cracked his eyes open while wincing a bit do to the slight stinging that was still going through his body. He blinked a few times before closing his eyes and bringing his hand up to rub his sore eye sockets. That was when he noticed that something shocking. Naruto not only felt claws on his face, but also the fact that it wasn't his face. It was like he was wearing a mask back he still felt things like he would his face.

He quickly opened his eyes and was startled to see that the five clawed fingers and that his skin was now a maroon like color. Quickly looking down, he found that he couldn't see his reflection in the water, only two glowing yellow eyes staring back at him through the water.

"**What have you done to me**?" Yelled out the monstrous creature formerly known as Naruto. He noticed that even his voice had changed to where it sounded like he had two voices. One was his own voice, the other sounded strangely similar to his tenant's. He glanced down at his stomach and found that the seal was no longer there, but in its place was a gaping hole where his seal once was.

With another cry of anger he glared at the spot the man had once stood before smashing his fist into the ground causing a huge crater to form along with mud, dirt, and rubble to come flying upwards. All the while cursing the Shinigami for what he had done to him. It was then that he felt something else coming from him.

Hunger, the monstrous beast was now growing hungry. Though, he didn't know what exactly it was that he had the erg to eat, his body practically moved on its own toward the direction that Sasuke had left.

If one were to have watched all this happen the only sign one would see where the huge foot prints that were left behind by Naruto's monstrous form stalking through the valley and towards Oto.

**In Oto**

Sasuke only sighed as he channeled chakra through his eyes again. There, he saw his Sharingan activate before adding more which made the three toma marks morph into what looked like a tri-bladed shuriken. He was happy…he finally achieved the power he had always sought for, he couldn't help but feel a tad bit of regret in killing the closest thing he had for a friend.

'No.' thought the avenger sternly. 'Don't waste such thoughts on that dobe. His purpose was fulfilled and now I can finally kill Itachi for what he's done. Now I just need to grow to master these eyes so that when I do encounter him again, I will be able to kill him.'

With that, he stopped focusing chakra into his eyes before walking out of the bathroom in his new room and plopping down on his bed. He winced slightly due to the pain but soon relaxed himself. In a few days, he was going to begin his training with Orochimaru and he was told that he just needed to rest while Kabuto finished healing him.

Slowly, the Uchiha's eyes began to close as the fight with Naruto had been very taxing on the young avenger. However, just as sleep was about to claim him, he felt the ground shake followed by yelling of multiple people coming down the hall. Without thinking, Sasuke climbed to his feet before exiting his room to find the source of the disturbance. Walking down the long dimly lit hallway he suddenly felt a presence of foreboding and death filling the very air he was breathing.

After arriving at where he thought the disturbance was coming from he turned the corner to discover a sight that made him fall to his knees and vomit. In the hallway, were multiple dead bodies of Oto ninja under Orochimaru's command with some missing heads, arms, hell even there torso was gone. One of the disturbing things about this was that the missing limbs couldn't be found and it looked as though the limbs were eaten off. Only fresh blood and organs littered the floor along with random claw marks along the walls and giant footprints in the floor.

After vomiting, Sasuke hastily returned to his feet while ignoring the wobbling in his legs and ran down the hallway following the giant footprints and claw marks the beast left behind. Soon, the sounds of more screaming could be heard followed by the sound of blood splattering across the floor.

After coming across another seven limbless bodies, Sasuke continued to trek onward until he realized that, whatever was attacking them, was headed for Orochimaru's chambers. Picking up as much speed as he could muster, he raced onward until he heard the sound of a door being smashed open.

'Damn, what the hell is going on?' though Sasuke as he went as fast as his injuries would allow. When he arrived at where Orochimaru's quarters were he saw that one of the double iron doors that lead to Orochimaru's room was lying on the floor with bits of concrete hanging where the hinges were. Who or whatever was doing this was very strong since those doors were almost impregnable. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke peered inside with his Sharingan activated to see a sight that stuck pure fear into his heart.

There, floating in the air was Orochimaru's dead corps whose body was missing several limbs such as his head, his arms, even his legs. Lying not too far away was Kabuto, who was sprawled out on the floor with his right arm and his left leg missing. His facial expression was that of pain and fear while his glasses were a few inches away in one of the giant footprints in the ground and looked like they were crushed under some severe weight. The thing that stuck him as odd was the fact that Orochimaru's chakra was steadily decreasing, not because of his death, but it was as though he was being drained by whatever was doing this.

And just when Sasuke was about to run for his life, two glowing yellow eyes locked with his red ones. The yellow eyes seemed to narrow at him before dropping the remains of Orochimaru and stalked towards him. Fueled by fear, Sasuke made a run down the hallway as fast as he could while praying that the beast wouldn't catch up to him.

Those thoughts were crushed when Sasuke rounded the corner and something crashed through the wall which caused the rubble to knock over the said Uchiha. When the dust cleared all Sasuke could do was look up in fright at the two glowing yellow eyes which were hovering above him.

As a last ditch effort, Sasuke channeled more chakra into his eyes as they changed into the feared Mangekyou Sharingan. What he saw with those new eyes of his made him wish he never had them.

The beast before him was huge, so huge that it looked cramped in the small hallway but, the thing most likely crashed through most things anyway. The thing had maroon colored skin, sharp black claws that where almost five inches long. Its face, if one could call it a face, was almost completely white almost like a mask of some sort with three red lines going across each cheek along with a snout with two vertical lines for breathing.

Its teeth where almost normal with the exception of the four fangs where the only thing sticking out. However, the thing that stuck out the most where the two long ears that resembled that of the Kyuubi's with a small patch of blond hair sticking out from the neck.

And all he could do was gape at the thing before him while shivering in terror at the killing intent that it was emitting. The beast made no attempt to move at that point, instead, it just stared at the terrified Sasuke while slowly breathing in and out.

Then, without warning, the thing spoke in a voice that Sasuke could defiantly recognize. **"Hello, Teme."**

The boy only continued to stare in shock and was now no longer trembling. There was only one person that he knew of that called him that on a regular bases.

"N-Naruto?"

The things yellow eyes gave the boy an amused look before answering. **"Jackpot. So, what do you think of my new appearance?"**

"I-i-its, d-disturbing."

"**Yeah, I know."** Replied the former ninja before his yellow eyes turned cold once more. **"And, it's your fault I ended up this way. You and that damned Shinigami who did this to me."**

"W-wait, what do you mean?"

"**You know exactly what I mean you Teme! If you'd had just come back to Konoha I wouldn't have died and I wouldn't be like this! It's your fault for all that's happened and its your fault that I had to meet that fucking Shinigami who damned me to a living hell!"**

"I-I-I told you to go back, didn't I? I told you that I was going to kill you!"

"**And for what, those stupid eyes of yours? Sorry, Teme but those things look just as stupid as you. And to think I ended up dying for a selfish bastard like you when I could have just killed you and brought your sorry ass back to the village."**

Sasuke tightened his fists in anger at the last comment before shouting. "Don't you dare talk to me like you were stronger than me you dobe! Remember I was the one that killed you, not the other way around!"

Naruto narrowed his yellow eyes at this before grabbing Sasuke far faster than he had anticipated from something so big. "**You forget that I can kill you now and you could do little to nothing to stop me. And for your information, I wasn't trying to kill you before but you can guarantee I will rectify that mistake this time."**

"Try it dobe!" Yelled out Sasuke before focusing solely on Naruto's masked head. Soon, blood began to poor out of his eye while the veins around the iris became visible.

In a fraction of a second, black flames engulfed Naruto's face which caused him to drop Sasuke onto the ground who was now panting heavily while his eyes returned to normal. That attack had used up everything he had left and he was hoping that it would be enough to finish off his revived teammate.

However, his hopes were dashed away in the wind as he felt something lift him up before tossing him halfway down the corridor. After skidding to a stop he hissed in pain as he looked around but was shocked to find nothing.

'I don't even have the chakra to active the Sharingan!' panicked the Uchiha as he began to search wildly around the area.

"**Teme."** Said the monster known as Naruto. "**You have nothing left that I can use to feed me and now that I think about it I'm actually quite full. So consider yourself lucky that I won't be eating you alive."**

Sasuke only scuffed as a small part of him always knew he was bluffing. "I knew you couldn't kill me no matter what you said." Muttered the boy.

"**Oh, I never said I was going to spare your life Sasuke."**

Sasuke then felt the serge of fear enter his heart once more as he saw the foot prints come closer towards him. He panicked and tried to crawl away but, in the end it was futile as Naruto grabbed him by the ankle and started dragging him towards a wall before smashing it down to reveal the harsh rain storm that awaited them outside.

And as Naruto dragged the terrified Uchiha out of the hideout, Sasuke was yelling for someone, anyone that would help him but knowing full well no one would come.

**In Konoha (One Day Later)**

Tsunade was sitting at her desk looking at the file with all the reports of what happened leading to the failed retrieval mission of Uchiha Sasuke. She gritted her teeth in anger before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She then reached down under her desk and picked up one object. A special bottle of Sake meant only for when shit really hit the fan.

She uncorked the bottle before taking a long gulp of the substance. After that she let out a soft sigh of contentment before easing back in her chair. She glanced down at the necklace that she had given Naruto before scowling.

"Wretched thing!" Yelled out the blonde before snapping it off her neck and tossing it towards the far corner of the room.

Just when she was about to take another long sip of her beverage, Shizune, her assistant, burst into her office panting heavily as she entered.

"Shizune, what's wrong with-"

"Oto has been destroyed Hokage-sama." Gasped out the dark hared kunoichi.

"What?"

"Oto has been completely and utterly destroyed along with all that resided in the base. We even have reports that Orochimaru and Kabuto are dead as well Hokage-sama."

This was some rather shocking news that she was getting. She knew that Orochimaru was no push over and for him, his assistant, and his men to be killed off so quickly was astonishing to her.

"We have other news as well Hokage-sama. Uchiha Sasuke has been found."

Now that was news that brought an evil gleam in the woman's eye that was all too happy that the boy lived just so she could make him wish he was dead.

"Where is he?" asked the Hokage while hiding her anxiousness at torturing the damn boy.

For a moment, Shizune didn't know how to answer before finally setting with the direct approach. "W-well, that's the thing. We found him, but...he wasn't in one piece anymore. In fact, we found most of his limbs on the branches of trees and some on the forest floor. The real thing that is scary though, is that his head was jammed into one of the broken tree branches."

Tsunade's eyes widened before looking at her apprentice with a disbelieving gaze. Seeing her reaction, Shizune quickly pulled out a small folder which Tsunade opened to find pictures of limbs scattered throughout the clearing with blood soaking the ground.

And there, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something that looked as though it was carved into the tree bark. What it said made her gasp and drop the picture while pointing at the words carved into the bark.

: Rest In Pieces Teme! :

* * *

There you go people. For all of you people who are Sasuke fans I don't want to hear any crying about this cause its my choice. Anyway, I wasn't sure how the whole Hollow feeding thing worked so if I'm wrong then I don't care cause that's going to be how they feed in my fic. R&R and tell me what you all think and before I go know that you won't be seeing anyone from Naruto anymore after this and as for pairings, I won't say yet.


	2. The Hunter and the Hunted

Yo, this is my second story and its been something that has been in the back of my mind since the day I decided to start writing fanfiction. Though, I'm an overly huge fan of Bleach, I like it enought to make an attempt of a crossover fic. Also, I'll need a good beta reader since, I don't want to hassle Masked Cridick since he's already beta reading Fox with a Dog's Fang. But anyway I hope you all enjoy my newest story. And sorry for the short chapter I promise to increase the word count for my next one.

"Talking" Normal

'Talking' Thinking

**"Talking" **Hollow Talking

**'Talking' **Hollow Thinking

I don't own Naruto or Bleach and that's all I have to say.

* * *

Karakura Town was a rather quiet place for most people in western Tokyo. Though, there were a few exceptions…like a few gang fights and such but it didn't make it a bad place to live. No more then any other city. Though for some, it was just one big workout! Since do to an untimely event via Shinigami, at least three or four times a week there was an attack on some poor soul by a Hollow.

Still, for fifteen year old Kurosaki Ichigo, it wasn't such a big problem since he almost always ended up killing the Hollow. The only exception was a recent one named Grand Fisher who had managed to escape him. Overall, despite being a substitute Shinigami, he felt rather proud of his accomplishments at keeping the town safe, regardless if he would ever openly say it.

Right now we find him walking on the path home from school with most of his friends. He glanced down at the shortest member of their little group and saw that Rukia was idly chatting with Tasuki and Orihime. Rukia was the one who had given him these powers and though he had never told her yet, he was very grateful for what she did.

As he and his friends made their way towards home, Ichigo suddenly stopped before looking around hastily. This caused a few of his friends to stare at him oddly do to his strange behavior.

"Kurosaki-kun, is something wrong?" asked Orihime softly.

"Y-yeah just thought I heard something is all." Replied Ichigo before catching up with them while everyone else went back into conversations.

_**XXX**_

**Nearby **

On the roof of one of the two story houses, stood a creature that was watching the group of kids closely while staring intently at the orange haired teenager. The creature licked its lips at the sight of its next prey. Though, it never expected that the boy would sense his presence so soon…it just meant that this prey was something worth going after.

With this set in mind, it leaped off the roof of the building and onto one of the other ones near by while being cautious in not alerting its presence to the boy.

_**XXX**_

**With Ichigo**

The boy sighed as he plopped down on his bed before shutting his eyes. Ever since he felt that strange burst of reiatsu he'd been keeping his guard up the entire time he was with his friends. Rukia, too had noticed the sign though she was better at hiding it than Ichigo was…she still knew it was there. What both scared at confused him was that almost as soon as he felt the burst, it was gone without a trace.

Now, he was laying here, wondering if something was going to happen soon when Rukia burst for the closet. "Ichigo, I just got some Intel that there is a Hollow somewhere around here."

"Any idea where it is?" asked Ichigo while adjusting himself on the bed to where he was sitting Indian-style.

Rukia only shook her head in response while putting on her special glove. "I think we should check around that area where we first felt it, then search around there and see if we come up with something."

Nodding, Ichigo braced himself for the punch before being knocked out of his body and into his Shinigami form. He rubbed his now sore jaw before looking over at Rukia who was already over by the widow ledge.

"I'll go on ahead; we'll meet back up at the school in two hours." Stated the girl before leaping out the window and beginning her search.

Ichigo sighed as he prepared to do the same when he noticed something rather odd. A small fox perched on the wall just outside his window that was currently…staring at him.

Now, Ichigo didn't mind animals but it was rare to see such a small kit sitting out in the open while usually they're out in the woods.

The Shinigami only shrugged and leaped down from his open window and began his search. Had he looked back, he would have seen that the fox that was sitting there a few seconds ago was now gone without a trace.

_**XXX**_

**With Rukia**

Kuchiki Rukia had been searching for the passed hour and a half now, and still had not found a single thing. It was odd to her that any Hollow would stay hidden for so long without at least alerting someone to its presence. The fact that the reiatsu was undeniably one that belonged to a Hollow and yet she had found nothing made her worry.

'_Something like that doesn't just disappear out of thin air.'_ Thought the young woman with a scowl. _'It must be somewhere in this neighborhood.'_

Coming up to a street corner, she was about to start down another street when she stopped dead in her tracks. A monstrous amount of reiatsu could be felt and when she finally had the strength to move, she glanced up on the roof to see a shadowy figure standing in front of the blazing sun glaring down at her with its crimson slit eyes.

The girl could practically feel the menacing grin appear on the abomination's face before watching it leave her line of vision. The moment it left, Rukia collapsed to the ground, panting heavily with a thick layer of sweat coving her forehead.

"What the hell was that?" Asked the girl to herself before hearing the sound of her phone ringing. Taking out the small cell-phone she quickly opened it read the message that Seireitei had sent. What she read almost made her drop her phone in fright as she began to shake ferociously.

The poor girl shakily closed her cell-phone before racing off to find Urahara Kisuke. If anyone could take on what was in the city at the moment, it was him. After all, who else in this town could take on an Adjuchus-class hollow, which had not only evaded but KILLED Shinigami for almost nine-hundred years?

_**XXX**_

**With Ichigo **

The substitute Shinigami was getting rather annoyed since he had spent two hours searching for this thing and he **still **hadn't found it yet. Usually, from what he could guess, these things came to you, not the other way around.

Most other times he had fought with Hollows he never had to go out and search for it at this degree since it would eventually make its self known by causing destruction of some sort.

But, today was peaceful and not a single person had been injured yet so that made tracking the Hollow though a Hollow's normal rampage wasn't an option. So for him and Rukia, they had to look for this thing the hard way. It was with a sigh that he turned the next corner to meet up at the school when he saw the same fox he had seen earlier walk out of someone's yard.

It was then that Ichigo realized that the kit was staring at him again, and realization caught up to him that only things with high reiatsu could see Shinigami and that this fox was STARING him. It was then he could here the sound of laughter coming from the fox.

Not long after, the fox shot its head back while continuing to laugh hysterically at him and in doing this, revealed the hole that was in its chest.

Then, the most disturbing sight met his eyes as the form of the tiny fox began mutating and growing.

The fox's body grew until it was about the same size as an adult lions while it's small ears expanding a bit and eight more tails sprouted to join the original. Its fur, no longer light orange and smooth, but scarlet red and coerce. Almost to the point of being sharp. The creature's paws now had four razor sharp black claws poking out while its once brown eyes turned a bloody crimson with slit pupils.

As this whole transformation was going on, the creature continued staring at him with an amused smirk on its face while radiating a fierce wave of foul reiatsu.

Ichigo had to use all his willpower to stay standing while the force that this beast was radiating was still focused solely onto him. After a few moments of this, the pressure that was focused on him suddenly stopped, which caused the orange haired youth to pant heavily while collapsing to one knee.

"**Pathetic."** Mumbled the beast while its tails swayed behind it. **"And here I thought that you would be entertaining to at least some extent. I suppose it's my fault for expecting fun from some random Death God…"**

"W-what are you talking about?" asked Ichigo before unsheathing his huge Zanpakuto from its sheath behind his back.

The creature only grinned sinisterly at him before entering what appeared to be a pouncing position. **"I've come to kill you boy. Need I say more?"**

With that statement, the strange fox like Hollow disappeared from his sight. The next thing Ichigo knew the fox was upon him with its claws reared back. The young Shinigami managed to barely dodge the attack only to be stuck hard in the ribs by one of the fox's scarlet tails which had enough force behind it to send him flying towards one of the nearby houses.

With a loud crash, the boy went through the house, while sporting a gash across his forehead with blood soaking out of his hair. He groaned as he shakily returned to his feet while ignoring the screams coming form inside the house.

Ichigo waited for the dust to settle from the hole before noticing that the creature was nowhere to be found. Before he could even think about his next move, a tail had entered his vision and wrapped itself around his neck before dragging him out of the house and into the air. He glanced upwards to see that the creature was now airborne with its claws reared back.

This time though, when the beast swiped its claws at him they connected making Ichigo gasp in pain as four slash marks appear on his chest. Blood spraying out from the wounds.

The force behind the swipe sent the unfortunate Shinigami speeding to the ground which caused a large creator to be left in the concrete. The creature lashed out its tail to one of the nearby buildings and was able to swing its way on top of one of the other houses while looking down into the creator with a bored look in its eyes.

"**Yup, no fun at all."** Muttered the Hollow. **"Should have guessed that this would be simple regardless of how much reiatsu he had. I didn't even get to really play with him for very long. I'll never find him playing with these weakling all the time…"**

Imagine the Hollow's surprise when Ichigo came flying out of the creator in an impressive burst of speed with his sword ready to swing. As the boy sung down, one of its nine scarlet tails raised itself almost automatically, and blocked to incoming attack with little trouble.

Pushing himself back, Ichigo was able to get a few feet away from the deadly Hollow in front of him before running forwards with his sword reared back. He swung his sword while aiming to cleave the thing in two only for the creature to parry and deliver another swipe with it's paw to his face sending the boy flying into another nearby roof top in a heap.

Ichigo groaned as he attempted to return to his feet before feeling something pierce through his abdomen, his right shoulder-blade, and his knee-cap. The boy glanced down to see three tails were now impaled into him while blood began to soak onto the creature's fur.

"**Nice try, but you need to move faster than that to hit me." **

With a quick flick of its tails, it sent the orange haired youth flying onto the roof of another house while listening to the screams coming from his victim. The Hollow only licked its lips before jumping over towards its now helpless prey. Just when he was about to finish the boy, a blue arrow made of reiatsu came flying towards it which made the creature leap back and growl at the unwelcome intruder.

The said intruder was none other than Uryu Ishida, one of Ichigo's classmates and a rather skilled Quincy. His attire was the standard school uniform that all males must wear along with a pair of white squire framed glasses. Though the creature could care less about who the boy was, it was his bow that made it scuff. The bow, was a simple blue one made by the free flowing reiatsu coming from the lad along with its arrows.

Arming himself with another arrow, Ishida aimed at the bizarre creature before him, before letting another arrow fly. The creature, almost not even fazed with the boy's arrow, easily leaned to the side to avoid it before giving Ishida its full attention.

"**Ah, a Quincy, I heard that your kind was almost wiped out a while ago."** The creature smirked after seeing the expression change on the boy's face. **"Oh, did I bring up some bad memories? Don't worry, everyone has a few but, you'll be joining the rest of your clan soon enough anyway."**

However, before the fox could attack again Ichigo had managed to return to his feet and swing his sword down upon the fox's front right leg with all the force he could. The creature howled in pain and shock that he was actually wounded while blood shot out of the deep wound before glaring back at the Shinigami with newfound rage in its eyes.

A second later, Ichigo found his left forearm in the jaws of the fox with its jagged fangs embedded into his skin. The boy could do nothing but drop his sword and scream in pain as he felt a sudden burning sensation begin to spread through his arm as he listened to the savage growl of the beast at it gnawed at his arm.

Ishida was prepared to fire an arrow at the creature but was forced to dodge as two of its tails came rocketing towards him. After dodging the tails, the Quincy quickly pulled back on the sting of his bow before launching four blue arrows at the Hollow.

The said Hollow quickly let go of Ichigo giving his attention to the Quincy as it swung its tails knocking the arrows away. Now the Hollow was annoyed, the creature raced forward in speeds that the Quincy couldn't keep up with in the slightest before head butting the boy in the chest which caused him to cough up blood as he flew off the roof.

In the mist of his pain he was unable to do anything to stop the Hollow's tails from wrapping around his wrists and separating them from each other so that he couldn't form his bow anymore. Before he could think of a way to escape the creature's clutches, it delivered a diagonal claw slash to his chest which caused Ishida to howl in pain. With an amused smirk, the beast turned its attention back onto Ichigo, who was still withering in agony do to the burning sensation going throughout his arm.

"**I congratulate you on your persistence. I haven't been injured by anyone in nearly 300 years," **chuckled the Hollow as it licked at the almost healed wound on it's leg,** "Even before that almost no one has been able to pierce my fur since my 7****th**** tail formed…but, I must say I am impressed! I didn't expect you to actually hit me with that giant piece of crap you call a Zanpakuto let alone being able to cut me. If you were a Hollow instead of a filthy Shinigami I may have actually taken a licking to you. However, I'm afraid I must end this little game since you don't make very amusing prey anymore..." **

With that said, the beast stalked closer towards the young Shinigami while still carrying Ishida along the way who's school outfit was now stained with blood. Despite the pain, Ishida attempted to break free from the tails holding his wrists in place before feeling another sharp pain in his wrists as blood began to ooze down his forearms.

"**I wouldn't struggle Quincy, my fur is made up of small blades that can easily cut through flesh when I desire. If you wish to prolong your life, I would stop struggling otherwise you will only end up bleeding to death."**

Ishida grunted in pain as he said, "Concern? I don't need it…"

The beast only snorted as he replied, **"Concern? You really are looking for a quick death aren't you? I hunt Shinigami out of hate and eat humans when needed nothing more so count yourself lucky that I have a Shinigami in sight and that I have no need to feed. If you're lucky you may survive this…"**

The creature noted with satisfaction that the boy had quit his struggles before focusing on the orange haired one in front of him. The fox reopened its maw as it prepared to rip Ichigo's throat out and beginning its meal. However, it was disturbed by yet another disturbance, this time though, it was too sudden to notice and was also too quick for it to dodge.

The creature screeched in agony as one of its tails was sliced off which caused the rest of which that were holding onto Ishida to release him.

When the Quincy turned to see his and Ichigo's savor he was greeted with the sight of a pale blond male wearing a green and white stripped bucket hat standing at the edge of the building with his sword drawn.

But, it wasn't his sword that made this man intimidating, it was the icy cold glare that lay in the shade of his hat that cause Ishida to recoil slightly. Glancing over to the man's left was Rukia, who was looking rather worried for Ichigo's well being. The beast, after taking notice to the new arrival, snarled in anger, while its now cleaved tail tuned and twisted throwing blood about although it was clear that a new one was already forming among the shower of blood.

"I didn't think you would show yourself in a place like this…Naruto." Stated the man while tightening the grip on his hilt. In response to this, the beast crouched low, like an animal that was backed into a corner.

"What are you doing here? Better yet, why aren't you in Hueco Mundo? What was it that drew you out from there? You have never been one to hunt needlessly…"

The creature now known as Naruto only smirked as his tail began to fully reform. **"I was looking for prey and it seems that I'd found someone worth hunting. And, it's not Naruto you Shinigami scum, its Kyuubi."**

The moment his tail was reformed, he quickly inhaled a great amount of air. Before anyone could question what it was doing, Naruto let out a ferocious roar which cause most of the ground that was in its path to be uprooted from the ground. And the creature's target, Urahara, stood impassively while his sword glowed fiery red. Once the dust was cleared away after Naruto's roar, it showed that Urahara was still standing in the same place as before with a wall of red energy before him with a huge chunk blown off of the left side.

He glared at the spot Naruto once stood before sighing. _'It seems like he's gotten away again.'_ Thought the man dryly before looking over to see a twitching Ichigo on the ground with a massive burn mark on his left forearm.

Sheathing his Zanpakuto, he walked over pulling out a small blue vile before pouring the liquid all along the burnt flesh. After a few moments of hissing from Ichigo, the scorch marks began to slowly fade along with the puncture wounds on his arm. He glanced over towards Ishida to find that the boy was gone with a small trail of blood being the only sign that he had wobbled off.

When Ichigo turned to face him, he snapped open his fan before bringing it to cover his face. "Well, it seems you've encountered one of Seireitei's most wanted and elusive Hollows. I should be amazed you survived but apparently this will happen again."

Ichigo's eyes widened at this before sitting up despite the pain in his stomach and other injuries. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Simple." Replied Urahara before snapping his fan shut. "He's interested in you, and that's never a good thing when it comes to him. Other then captain's no one's ever survived a battle with him…"

"Why, is it because of me being a Shinigami?"

Urahara only sighed before walking over towards the young boy before grabbing onto both him and Rukia and performing _Shunpo _back to his store. Upon his arrival, he helped the young Shinigami into his store while his assistant, Tsukabishi Tessai, gestured the three to enter while shooing away Ururu and Jinta. Once the four were behind closed doors, Tessai helped Ichigo sit before taking a seat beside Urahara.

After a few moments of silence, Ichigo was the first to speak. "So, are you going to explain to me what that thing is or what geta-boshi?"

The said man swiftly opened his fan and hid his face before adjusting his hat and sighing.

"Kid, that thing you were fighting was no normal Hollow."

"What do you mean?"

"Alright, I'll explain what I know from the beginning and it's a long tale so pay close attention."

_**XXX**_

**With Naruto**

The said Hollow was, at the moment, feeding on a human adult he had been passing by. Though he usually never ate human's unless they had unusually high reiatsu, he needed to recoup the lost energy from regenerating his limbs…and he was feeling semi-angry that his quarry had gotten away so he needed a chew toy. So in order to let out some of his frustration, he decided to find the closest person with high reiatsu and just went to town.

He scuffed as he took a large bite at the man's open chest before ripping out the entrails while chomping down on the bloody organs. Normally, Hollow just killed to release the soul and devoured it when no free roaming souls were available but he had taken a liking to an actual feeding over the centuries. It seemed more natural.

As he ate, he couldn't help but snarl as the memory of the man who cleaved his tail off. It infuriated him to no end and what was worse was that he had been forced to run. Him**,** Naruto, had been forced to retreat do to one man's appearance!

Naruto growled as he looked down at the head of the man he had killed before sweeping his claws across the man's face causing it to go flying off its shoulders do to the force he put behind it.

"**After all this time, I'm still forced to run from those damn dogs called Shinigami."** Snarled Naruto while his tails swayed dangerously behind him. **"To think, I was forced to run when I had my prey cornered and ready to kill. If he hadn't shown up I could have been eating a real meal not this piece of shit called a soul…"**

Before the frustrated Hollow's rant could continue the sound of tree's crashing alerted him to a presence behind him. When he turned he saw the sight of a low level Hollow stomp its way into his clearing. The creature turned towards Naruto before sneering at him.

"**What are you doing here you puny excuse for a Hollow?" **

Naruto didn't answer, instead he continued to munch on his snack while contemplating on what he should do next.

"**Don't ignore me you little bastard! I'm talking to you here!"**

Naruto took one last bite of his meal before turning to face the Hollow standing before him. Swallowing his food, he quickly licked his lips clean of blood before disappearing. When he reappeared, a good chunk of the Hollow's arm was gone and was now being eaten by Naruto. He had almost forgotten how much more filling another Hollow after all the years of hunting Shinigami while feeling a bit of power return to him from eating the Hollow's right arm.

It was when the other creature cried in agony that he decided to finish the job and get a more…tasteful meal than the one he was eating before hand.

As the low level Hollow prepared to seek revenge for his wound, Naruto was already in front of him with his claws extended. In a split second, Naruto was airborne with his claw raised as red reiatsu streaked upwards behind him as the Hollow's head went flying through the air.

Another second later, the body of the said Hollow collapsed to the ground with blood shooting in the air while Naruto started feasting on the flesh of his new meal.

However, his meal was interrupted yet again only this time, it was by the opening of a _Garganta _about three feet to his left. Sniffing a few times, he grinned before turning to face the old rival who he hadn't seen in quite some time.

However, when he turned to face him instead of a Hollow he was given the sight of a man with light blue hair and eyes, which had blue/green lines below them. His attire consisted of a white hakama and a black sash; while his white jacket was ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black with the sleeves rolled up, and he was wearing it open, leaving his chest revealed.

The only thing Naruto caught the distinguished him from this human as anything but was the remains of a hollow mask which consisted of the right jawbone, and his hole that was moved to his abdomen.

"**Grimmjow?"** asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow. **"What the hell happened to you?"**

The said man just smirked down at the fox in front of him. "I changed a lot since back in the day Kyuubi, I have Aizen-sama to thank for this."

"**Aizen, I don't recall meeting him. Is he a Hollow or something?"**

Grimmjow shook his head before answering. "Naw, he's a Shinigami Captain but he plans to eliminate them soon enough."

"**And you trust a Shinigami scum? Sorry, that sounds a little fishy to me…"**

"Don't worry, he can be trusted, besides with powers like these who really cares if he's a Shinigami or not?"

"**Grimmjow, I hate any and all Shinigami regardless if they are betraying their own or not. Besides I could care less about how much power I get from this scum, I'm not interested."**

The man's smirk faded from his face before disappearing faster than Naruto could have imagined. When he reappeared, his fist was already in his face and was punched with enough force to send him flying through the forest and through trees as he went.

Eventually, he righted himself in mid-flight as he landed on all fours against a bolder, cracking it from the force of his stop only to be forced to barely avoid being kneed in the abdomen by Grimmjow, who had suddenly appeared in front of him once more.

It was fast…nearly too fast for Naruto to follow as the Grimmjow held his blade against Naruto's thought as he was pinned against the boulder, "You were always just a little bit better then me, always just a little faster…a little stronger and no matter what I did the difference never seemed to change but look at you now…Kyuubi."

"**Yah, you have so much to be proud of…finally beating me by begging for scraps from a filthy Death God!"**

The said man just snarled down at Naruto before raising his hand and opened his palm to show a glowing red ball of reiatsu which in turn Naruto recognized as a _Cero _immediately. Even for him a blast from this range…Naruto closed his eyes and awaited his death only to feel a hand grip his neck and lift him into the air as the lower half of his body lay limp on the ground.

"My orders were to bring you with me to _Las Noches_ by any means necessary. That means I can beat you to an inch of your life and drag your worthless ass back there if I have to…but, I'm showing you a rare act of kindness and giving you the chance to come willingly. Don't take this lightly 'cause if you still refuse, I'll be sure to explain to Aizen-sama why your dumb ass is half dead on his doorstep."

With that said the Espada let go of Naruto's throat before kicking back into the bolder which in turn caused it collapse on top of the Adjuchus class Hollow. When Naruto didn't rise out from the rubble Grimmjow raised an eyebrow in confusion at this cause, from what he remembered, it took a lot more than that to keep this one down.

Suddenly, five scarlet tails erupted from the rubble and made an attempt to impale the man only for them to bounce off without leaving a scratch on him.

A second later, Naruto himself shot out like a rocket toward the former panther Hollow with his claws reared back. The moment he swung, Grimmjow had disappeared once more only to reappear with his palm outstretched and a red ball of reiatsu glowing in his hand.

"Last chance Kyuubi, join us willingly or I drag you there half dead." Stated Grimmjow coldly while focusing more spirit pressure into the glowing red orb.

Naruto snarled viscously at the man while his tails swayed angrily behind him, _**"This is insane…he couldn't have gotten this much stronger just from changing his form like this…"**_ After glaring heatedly at the Espada for a few moments he finally sighed before lowering his head in defeat.

"**Whatever, let's just get this over with."** Grumbled the Hollow while retracting his claws.

Grimmjow grinned before pointing his hand up over his head and firing his Cero into the sky which caused some of the nearby clouds to part.

"See that wasn't so hard now was it?" Asked Grimmjow with sarcasm dripping off his tong clearly enjoying this too much.

"**Screw you, Grimmjow."**

The man only shrugged in reply before performing the Garganta causing a rip in space to show its self and reveal an almost pitch black void in the center of the clearing. Stepping inside, Grimmjow gestured Naruto to follow which he did, albeit begrudgingly.

Once inside, he watched as the tunnel began to close and the light coming from the mortal realm began to dim slowly. And, all the while, he couldn't help but feel awkward about going to this place.

'_**Why do I get the feeling like something strange is going to happen?'**_Thought Naruto as the tunnel finally closed off his only escape not knowing what new changes were about to occur in his future.

* * *

There you go people. For all of you people who are Sasuke fans I don't want to hear any crying about this cause its my choice. Anyway, I wasn't sure how the whole Hollow feeding thing worked so if I'm wrong then I don't care cause that's going to be how they feed in my fic. R&R and tell me what you all think and before I go know that you won't be seeing anyone from Naruto anymore after this and as for pairings, I won't say yet.


	3. The Past and the Present

Yo! Just got to say that Mexico is a kick ass placed when you don't live there. Anyway, this chapter was rather annoying so if its not as good as my other one's, sorry. Don't know why, but these kinds of chapters are always the most troublesome to write for me and I have no freaking clue why. But, enough of that, on with the chapter!

_"Talking" _Techniques

"Talking" Person Talking

'Talking' Person Thinking

**"Talking" **Hollow Talking

**'Talking' **Hollow Thinking

I don't own Naruto or Bleach and that's all I need to say.

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he stared up at the white ceiling of his room. He was still grateful that the wounds inflicted on him by Kyuubi didn't effect his real body…otherwise he would still be in intense pain. Glancing over at his closet, he found that Rukia had decided to fall asleep with the door open.

Sighing again, Ichigo climbed out of bed and gently closed the door as quietly as he could so as to not awaken her. He felt a bit of regret at worrying her so much during the day and was grateful that she was able to sleep at all. Glancing at his desk, he stared at the strange pill that Urahara had given him earlier during the day.

'_Geez, can't believe that the Hollow I was fighting was that old.'_ Thought Ichigo dryly before laying back down on his bed.

As he lay there, his mind began to wonder back to the explanation that Urahara had told him and Rukia after his beating from the Hollow.

_**XXX**_

_Flashback_

"Alright, I'll explain what I know and it's a long tale so pay close attention." Stated Urahara before placing his fan down onto the table followed by removing his hat.

"Naruto, or should I say Kyuubi, is a Hollow of which we of Seireitei had never encountered before. He appeared in the time before Hueco Mundo was turned into a barren waist-land of white sand and rocks."

"Wait a minute!" interrupted Rukia. "I thought Hueco Mundo was always like that."

"Yes, that's what the history books say, but since I was once a Captain of the 12th division I was able to do some more in ground research and found some rather odd things. It turned out that Hueco Mundo was once a thriving and populated place where many of the population had high reiatsu levels. Sadly, due to the ambitions of a group called Akatsuki, they unleashed a powerful weapon that ended up destroying their world and thus leaving it the shape it is today."

"What were these guy's ambitions anyway?" asked Ichigo while Tessai addressed his wounds carefully.

"World domination."

"You're serious?"

"Yup, they planned to use nine creatures called Bijuu to create something that would crush any obstacle in their way while at the same time, disrupting the funding of other nations. When those nations collapsed under the lack of funding the group would destroy them and with them being the dominant power, there would be little to no one to stand in their way. Unfortunately, due to the death of one of the Bijuu containers, the group's leader, Pein, decided to make do with the other eight and sent the members to capture them and to begin their plans to fruition ahead of schedule."

Ichigo and the others were in deep awe. It was a rare thing to find what one knew was a total lie. Even more so that an entire world could be wiped out by the ambitions of a few men…

"And, from there the rest is history. The weapon was indeed as powerful as the group intended but it lacked control. That was what the last Bijuu was to be used for. Each of the 9 beasts had a special ability that added to the whole of the weapon and even though the last was by far the most powerful of the beasts it was it's incredible ability to manipulate unimaginable amounts of energy that was truly amazing about it. Thus, when the weapon was unleashed into the world, instead of destroying the target accurately it ended up destroying everything, even the Akatsuki itself was wiped out in the process."

"So, this Hueco Mundo place is the remains of some baka's mistake?" asked Ichigo bluntly while wincing a bit due to the puncture wounds Tessai was tending to.

"That's pretty much it."

"But, how is Kyuubi apart of this?" asked Rukia with a raised eyebrow.

"Because, the being you now know as 'Kyuubi' was actually once the Jinchuuriki of the last Bijuu the Akatsuki needed. Also, it has been said that Kyuubi was considered the strongest amongst the nine Bijuu and had the power to topple mountains and cause tsunamis with a mere swipe of its tails."

This caused both Rukia and Ichigo to stare at Urahara in fear knowing that the creature whom had just recently ran off, had the power to end them as quickly as that. However, it also raised the question as to why Kyuubi didn't do so in the first place.

"S-so he could have killed me anytime he wished" asked Ichigo while trying to remain calm.

"Yes, and no. He's an Adjuchus class Hollow that many consider to be bordering the power of a Vasto-Lorde so he could have killed you with hardly any trouble but, you don't need to worry. The Kyuubi that exists today doesn't have the power like the original did back then. I will say this though…he's far from weak and even as an Adjuchus class, some of the Captains in Seireitei would have trouble with him."

"Why is he such a problem? Can't you just send two of these Captains after him and just finish him off?"

"It's not that simple, Captains can't leave Seireitei that easily. A captain just coming to the real world would cause massive problems since this world was never meant to experience the power a captain wields normally."

"And just what does that mean?" asked Ichigo.

"The world would become distorted…just as when a Hollow appears. I believe you've seen this before but with a captain it would happen to such high extents that windows would break as they passed, animals would begin acting violent, and anyone with any spiritual awareness what so ever would become so overwhelmed it could even cause them harm. The only reason that Kyuubi didn't cause the same reaction is because he is extremely skilled at controlling energy. Whether it's to hide his presence or to keep bystanders safe."

"Bystanders?" asked Rukia with a surprised look.

Urahara slowly nodded his head, "It's one of the strangest things about Kyuubi that we still don't understand. Unlike regular Hollow he hardly ever goes after human souls. Seemingly only hunting Shinigami but even when he does go after the occasional human they are ones that would have had the 'Gates to Hell' open anyway."

Ichigo couldn't help the shiver running up his spine remembering the bone laden doors he has seen weeks before when he and Chad had meet the small boy inhabiting the body of a bird…

"Even if the guy is nice enough to not want to get other people involved he still hunts Shinigami and hurts people while doing it so why not just send a couple of these Captains after him and be done with it?" asked Ichigo.

With a deep sigh, "It would be rare for even one Captain to come and handle a single Hollow. Never mind two together unless it was a big invasion of high level Hollow. The point is, even if they want to kill Kyuubi, its almost impossible for a Captain to do so since one wouldn't be enough and they are normally never ordered to step in to these types of affairs unless absolutely necessary. Not only for the effects on the real world but the danger of weakening Seireitei."

"That's bullshit!" Yelled Ichigo while slamming his palms on the table in anger. "How can they just sit back and watch as that thing goes out and kills people!"

"Ichigo!" Yelled Rukia which earned a surprised look from the said teenager. "Seireitei is a completely different place from this world. We have codes and restrictions that we must abide by when in the human world. Unlike you and Urahara, normal Shinigami are forbidden the use of certain powers here! Even more so Captains and Vice Captains can only fight at half strength while here. When a Shinigami of that level comes to the real world limiters are placed that restrict them on how much reiatsu they can use! By limiting the reiatsu, the core of a Shinigami's power…even the most basic of abilities become shadows of what they once were."

Ichigo was silent for a moment before saying, "So even though they're a Captain they'd be no match…"

"Yes," said Urahara in a solemn voice, "When a captain is in the real world they rely more on skill then their overwhelming strength. You see the difference between a Captain and any other seat in a squad is indescribable. It would be like having a toddler fight a sumo to give you a good picture of the difference. So their power is sealed to ensure the safety of all."

"So even if they were to send them out, we would only be sending them to their own graves for the sake of only one Hollow; given, a very strong one, but one none the less." Finished Rukia not willing to look at Ichigo.

Ichigo clenched his fist at hearing that statement, but was forced to shut up about it. She was right, he really didn't know much about Seireitei but, that didn't mean he had to like the way they handled things.

"That might not be the case Ichigo." Stated Urahara out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" asked the orange haired Shinigami before sitting himself down again.

"Kyuubi, like I said before, rarely attacks humans despite his nature as a Hollow and even then it's not to the point that several die for just his sake. From what I remember, the records say that he has left Hueco Mundo only a dozen or so times to feed and only took the lives of eighty-seven humans in his nine-hundred year life-span."

"How many lives does a regular Hollow take in its life-span?"

"From the hundreds to the thousands and their lives tend to be shorter than fifty years most of the time. However, it is recorded that he has killed over three hundred Shinigami over the years. Both those foolish enough to hunt him and those he's hunted himself. He seems to hunt only those he finds strong and has never failed to kill those he sets out to attack…two of which have been former Captains…"

"But, if he's been around for nine hundred years, then how come he isn't a Vasto-Lorde yet?" asked Rukia.

"That's something even we don't know for sure." replied Tessai as he poured himself some tea, "But, as far as we know every hundred years he has grown another tail. Because, Naruto as we know him was the container for the original Kyuubi we assume he is assimilating more completely with the true Kyuubi as he ages. Thus, gaining more power and intelligence. With this pattern we can assume it will continue…"

"That makes me believe that Kyuubi, when he receives his tenth tail, will evolve into a Vasto-Lorde and thereby making him an even deadlier threat to Seireitei than he already is." Finished Urahara before placing his hat back on.

"So, what do we do about this?" asked Ichigo attempting to stand despite the bit of pain still coming from his wounds.

"There really isn't much we can do since, for all we know, he could be long gone or at your house waiting for you."

"What!"

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding." Chirped Urahara before snapping his fan open over his face again.

"Bastard!" Growled Ichigo while shaking his fist in anger at the former Captain. "This is no time for your stupid jokes!"

"Your right and in all seriousness, Ichigo, you are in great danger right now." Spoke the man in a dead serious tone. "Kyuubi has set his eyes on you and will do everything he can to kill you now that he has officially declared you his prey. Though, I don't know how or when he plans to strike…I do know that if you want to even stand a chance against him, I would suggest that you at least learn your Zanpakuto's name before he strikes again."

"Huh?"

"Rukia will explain it to you later, but for now take this." Replied the man before handing him a black pill. "It's my own creation, once you take it, your reiatsu levels will increase dramatically to the point that you can almost be considered a Captain. Once this wears off however, you will be completely drained so much that you won't be able to move in your real body for the next three days. Use this only when if you come face to face with him again. Also know that this is the only one I have so be sure to kill him if you do see him."

Taking the pill, he quickly raised an eyebrow at it before pocketing it. Walking towards the exit he slid the door open and prepared to leave but stopped when he heard Urahara's parting words.

"Don't let your guard down Ichigo, Kyuubi could be anywhere at anytime and you won't even know he's there."

Glancing back at the former Captain he nodded his head in response before walking out of the shop with Rukia not far behind him.

_**XXX**_

_End Flashback_

Sighing, Ichigo stared out the window as a light breeze blew softly in the night. Part of him was wondering if Kyuubi was watching while the other part was worried for his friends. It wouldn't have been the first time they were hurt because of him and that had always angered him to no end. It was the sound of his closet door opening that drew his attention back to Rukia, who was sitting on her bed wearing her pajamas staring at him.

"Are you afraid Ichigo?" she asked softly

The boy only scuffed before turning his attention back out the window. _'Hell no, just paranoid is all.'_ He thought dryly.

"You shouldn't worry yourself too much Ichigo, I doubt he would come back with the knowledge that Urahara is in this town."

"Maybe..." muttered the boy before turning to face her. "But, you yourself heard what Geta-boshi said before. Kyuubi will do everything in its power to kill me, which means even try and harm Chad and the others. I don't want them to get involved with this just because of some stupid Fox with a grudge against me."

With a frustrated sigh, he turned his head away from her and back out the window once more before saying softly. "I don't want what happened to my mom to happen to anyone else I care about just so that Kyuubi can get to me."

Rukia couldn't help but feel downcast at that statement. It was one of the very few times she'd seen Ichigo so worried and it just didn't sit well with her. To see someone who had taken every challenge with little hesitation to suddenly become too paranoid to sleep just wasn't right in her eyes.

"Ichigo." Said the girl softly once more. "I'm sure that Urahara is doing something to help you with this. He sees great things coming from you and I doubt he would just let you and your friends get hurt while he sits and does nothing. So please, just relax and get some sleep 'cause tomorrow I'm going to try and help you find out your swords name."

The boy didn't move or speak for the longest time before turning around to face her again with a small smile on his face. She was right, and if he wanted to even try to stand the smallest chance against Kyuubi should he appear again, he at least wanted to grow a bit stronger before then.

So, with a small nod he quietly got under his covers and glanced at his clock. _'12:45 Tomorrow's going to suck.'_ Thought the boy before closing his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Rukia just smiled sadly at boy before following suite in getting some sleep herself. She gently closed the closet door before closing her eyes and letting her mind drift into a blissful slumber. Unknown to both occupants in the room, a familiar man with a bucket hat was sitting on the roof of the house while staring out into the darkness around him.

'_Naruto should you show your face around this place again, I'll be certain to finish you off. I won't let this little game of yours continue any longer.'_ Thought the man before gripping onto his cane even tighter.

_**XXX**_

**Las Noches **

In a giant palace in the center of the Hueco Mundo, two figures trekked through the large hallway while other Arrancar hastily moved out of the duo's way.

Some were curious while others were amazed by the two. How could they not? After all its not everyday you see an Adjuchus class Hollow that's been around for nine hundred years come stalking down the corridor with the 6th rank Espada escorting him.

As the two walked onward, Naruto couldn't help but feel agitated by the unnecessary long walk to the center of this place. Hell the least this Aizen guy could do was install some faster way of transportation than just walking.

"**Are we getting close to this place Grimmjow?"** asked the irate Hollow

"Yeah, yeah quit your whining you little twerp. I already had to deal with your nine tailed ass for about a few hours anyway so don't make it any worse for me will ya?"

Naruto scuffed but none the less stayed silent since he really didn't want to feel one of those kicks to his chest again anytime soon.

After walking for another few moments, they finally came to a giant set of iron double doors. Walking up towards the door, Grimmjow took a quick breath and kicked the doors open to show a large vacant room with ten people present in it, most of which dressed in the same attire.

But, it was the one in the center of the room which drew Naruto's attention as the said man was wearing a Shinigami Captain's attire. Snarling, he followed behind Grimmjow who had taken to stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking to the room.

"Sorry we're late Aizen-sama, the damn fox didn't want to come willingly at first so I had to convince him to come along like you had suggested." Stated the man before leaning up against the wall near the doorway.

The said man only smirked before replying. "Good work Grimmjow. I trust you have no serious injuries Kyuubi?"

The fox Hollow only scuffed before seating himself down while his tails fell limply to the floor. **"Don't worry about my injures Shinigami scum. I can regenerate any wound inflicted on me in a matter of minutes."**

When his statement was finished he found a blade about three inches from his throat while his arm was now severed. And do to the speed in which it was cleaved off, he almost felt no pain come from the wound.

Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw that a dark skinned man in a standard Shinigami Captain uniform was holding the blade but it was the fact that he was wearing a clear visor showing that the man was blind that seemed to catch Naruto's attension.

"You will watch what you say in Aizen-sama's presence or you will face my blade." Said the man softly while pressing his blade closer towards Naruto's throat to emphasize his point.

Naruto only glanced back at the stub that was left of his right upper leg before smirking. In moments, the stub called his leg began to glow dark red as blood continued to poor down from the open wound.

Soon, an outline of his right leg made of pure reiatsu began to form before the glowing faded and revealed an exact copy of his old leg back in place.

"**I'd get that sword away from me you blind scumbag unless you want to see your arm on the floor next." **As the Kyuubi finished his statement a light shimmer was seen in the air before revealing that one of his tails was wrapped around the mans sword arm hovering just over the skin.

The entire room showed shock in their own way. Tosen himself tightened his grip on his blade as if waiting for the pain until…

"Tosen, release Kyuubi-san immediately." Ordered Aizen sternly.

The said man didn't miss a beat and did what he was told while sheathing his sword. Smirking a bit Naruto glanced over towards Aizen who was still smirking at him.

"I apologize for that Kyuubi, you see he holds me in high regards and doesn't like those that disrespect or disobey me."

"**Heh, you should teach your pet to watch what he does. He just might piss off the wrong person and end up dead with his head in something's gut."**

"I understand Kyuubi and let me be the first to welcome you to Las Nachos, my stronghold for the Arrancar Army." Bowed the man before gesturing towards the others in the room. "And these are the Espada, the strongest amongst the Arrancar."

Glancing around, Naruto scuffed at most of the Espada in the room. Mind you, he could tell they were strong, hell most of which could easily crush him if they got him into a straight out fight. His match with Grimmjow was enough to show him that…like he'd ever let that happen again.

He knew very well he wasn't the strongest and it was that wisdom that had kept him alive. Those he couldn't hunt he tricked. Those he couldn't trick he reasoned with…and those he couldn't reason with were destroyed…and this was what he was dealing with at the moment. If he wanted to survive he'd have to lie, trick, and seduce his way out…thank Kami he was a fox demon.

Despite this, he still kept his bored expression on his face as he glanced back at Aizen.

"**Sorry, if I'm not too thrilled to be here Aizen but, my dealings with Shinigami in the past have been less then pleasant whether they themselves were pleasant towards me…to save us both some time why not just tell me what you want with me and skip the floor show?"** Stated Naruto dully while lying down with his head perched on his paws.

Some of the Espada grimaced slightly at the brashness he was displaying. Some were already labeling him as either foolish or brave. Grimmjow on the other hand, couldn't help but smirk at his old rival's attitude as it reminded him much of his own. It was when Aizen started chucking that he and most of the Espada came out of their stupors.

"Yes, it seems I should just get strait to the point. As you can already guess, I wish for you to be apart of my army. In return, you may be entitled to doing as you wish to the one who made you the way you are today once Seireitei is destroyed."

At that, Naruto began to growl loudly while reiatsu began to poor off him in waves as his tails thrashed around wildly almost hitting some of the Espada in the room. Just the thought of that man's eerie smile caused uncontrollable rage to swell up in him.

In his anger, he failed to notice the ground he was laying on sink as a small crater began to form do to the sheer amount of reiatsu he was releasing which also caused some bits off the walls around him to crack under the sheer pressure of it.

'_Perfect.'_ Thought Aizen with a smirk as he watched the scarlet reiatsu spiral violently around the fox. _'You are going to be a great aid in the destruction of Seireitei Uzumaki Naruto.'_

Soon Naruto's reiatsu died down before in was completely stable while snarling out viciously as he returned his attention to Aizen; looking him dead in the eyes.

"**Why not?" **Naruto seemed to ask himself, **"I accept your proposal Aizen on three conditions…"** a few gasps seemed to escape the surrounding Espada at the thought, **"First, I will not call you my master. I'll obey your orders but I will not bow to you, I will see my own head roll before I bow to another."**

"I have no qualms with that Kyuubi." Replied Aizen as he reached out and grabbed at the air causing a few to question his actions. It was only a moment before yet another of Naruto's tails shimmered into existence poised as if to act as a blade, "I would also appreciate it if you didn't set the stage for my demise either…"

Hearing the grinding sounds and growls coming from the surrounding Espada Naruto only chuckled lightly before retracting his tail and asking, **"Impressive…when did you notice it?"**

Aizen in turn chucked while waving for the arms to be put away, "I only noticed it when you revealed your other tail holding Tosen…but I assume it had been their since you laid down?"

Slightly shocked Naruto just chucked to answer the question as Aizen asks, "If we are done gauging each other why don't you tell me of your last 2 conditions?"

With a smirk Naruto said, **"For anyone to have their life by a thread and then overlook it so simply…quite something. As for my last requests…they are rather simple. I will come and go as I like while not performing missions for you and I will not required to live within Las Nachos…"**

For the first time Aizen had shown a quirk of irritation hearing Naruto's request…exactly what Naruto had wanted to see,_**"Just as I thought. He wants to observe me for some reason. Not just to fight for him…this could work to my advantage if I play this right."**_

Aizen slowly straightened in his seat before saying, "I'm more then willing to agree to your first two terms Kyuubi but to reside outside Las Nachos would cause me great troubles. Is there no way you would concede to building a home within my walls?" finished Aizen in a steely gaze that sent all the other Espada into 'Oh shit!' mode.

Naruto kept a steely gaze of his own before smirking and looking around the room before ending his sights on Grimmjow and smirking, **"Only if I can have his room…" **

As several laughs broke out around the room even Aizen himself broke out into a mild laugh as Grimmjow sputtered, "Kyuubi-teme!!! I'll kick your ass!" screamed Grimmjow as he charged only for three tails to wrap around him from the shadows and stopping him in mid air surprising many in the room.

"**Last time Grimmjow," **spoke Kyuubi in an ethereal tone,** "you not only had the advantage of us being in the human world but you also had the advantage of being my friend. Both you don't have here and now that I've recovered from the wounds those Shinigami gave me you don't have the speed advantage either. You may be more powerful then me now but power without skill is as useful as a dull blade…"**

"Teme…you were injured when we fought before?" asked Grimmjow in a shocked voice as he struggled with the tails but even with his strength the way the tails bound him was nearly impossible to break without destroying the room in the process.

"**I was hunting and had ran into a Captain in the process. Needless to say it gave you the advantage when we met but, this time not only do I have the advantage of an enclosed space but the fact that you've given up the raw power of your old body for the control that comes from that Arrancar form of yours…so unless you plan to destroy this place to fight me you're shit out' a luck."**

It was clear by the faces of the other Arrancar that they were shocked. An Adjuchus had just put an Espada in their place with little more then control over the battle field and a well placed threat.

As the sounds of light clapping was heard they all turned to see Aizen with a wide smile on his face and an almost glee filled look to his eyes, "Exactly what I had hoped for! In all of creation there is only a hand full of beings as old as you and your experience shines through. It's true that I wished you to join me for unique powers but even more so was your unequaled experience…and that experience will lead to Seireitei's down fall."

"**Well I'm glad you're satisfied…"** replied Naruto with a little tentativeness to his voice. He had thought this Aizen was fairly straight forward to deal with as was Orochimaru but it seemed he kept much more hidden away then the Snake ever did.

"Now, Kyuubi, I have a small gift for you…to show my thanks for joining me."

With that said, a small black orb appeared in his right hand and began to glow brightly for a moment before a burst of reiatsu was fired at Naruto which had struck him dead in the chest causing Naruto to groan in sudden pain and hunch forward slightly. Then, just as quickly as the beam had connected, it had subsided leaving all in the room to wait patiently as the thick cloud of steam to disperse which had obscured everyone's view of the legendary fox hollow.

Once the steam began to die down enough for everyone to see, kneeling in the center of the room, was a hunched over figure clad in nothing but his bare skin. His hair, whom many assumed was going to remain crimson like his fur, was long and semi spiky that stopped just a bit above his shoulders yet was now the same sun-kissed blonde as when he was a human, with the exception of a few red highlights on the tips of his spikes. His face bore the remains of his Hollow mask which went from his right cheek all the way to his temple before stopping while curving around his eye. He bore three whisker marks on his left cheek while the right cheek, which was covered by his mask, had three jagged red marks signifying his whiskers.

Beside him, lay a lone katana with a red hilt and sheath. The blade was about twenty-seven inches long and one and a half inches wide. The thing that was strange was that, unlike some of the katana's that the Espada wielded, the blade was pitch black with no light shining off it...almost as if the light was being eaten by the blade. The guard was also rather strange, as it consisted of four fang like objects all of which pointing clockwise with a rim held by the tips of the fangs.

His body structure was built but not bulky but with his form still kneeled it was difficult to guess his height. Another thing that wasn't determined yet were his eyes, which had been closed the entire time.

His ears had also changed as they seemed to be a bit pointier than an average person's ears should be. Another noticeable thing was that his former onyx claws were replaced with more normal looking claws, each one still looking just as sharp as the last. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that his canines had also changed to rather jagged fangs which poked out a bit from under his lips.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto groaned softly before raising himself up, cracking his neck in the process. Now that he was standing, they could tell that he was about six foot three but, his eyes still remained closed. They did find that his hole was now located in his right shoulder...a thing he would find quite funny later on when he noticed it. The 'Teme' still seemed to find ways to insult him even from the grave.

"**Aizen."** Stated Naruto in his same voice before opening his eyes to reveal the same crimson colored eyes as before but with the regular round pupils of a human. Then in a normal human voice he said, "I would appreciate it if you would warn me next time…"

The said man only chuckled a bit before tossing him a white robe for him to wear. Snatching it out of the air, he quickly put it on before bending down to grab his sword while sheathing it.

"You will be evaluated tomorrow afternoon to find what rank we should place you in among my army. In the meantime, Ulquiorra Schiffer will be escorting you to your new quarters."

Raising his eyebrow he noticed out of the corner of his eye someone stepping forward. Turning, he came face to face with a pale man with green slit eyes with cyan lines descending form them. His attire was the same as almost everyone else in the room and the remains of his hollow mask being the top of his head, making Naruto think of it as some sort of helmet.

"Follow me." Stated the man in an emotionless voice.

Nodding, Naruto followed the man as he opened the doors and began walking down the hall with Naruto not too far behind him.

When both men were out of everyone's line of view, Aizen turned to face the only elderly man in the room.

"You will be evaluating him tomorrow. I must return to Seireitei before they realize I'm gone. If anything interesting happens during his evaluation please notify me as soon as possible. Understood?"

The elderly Espada nodded his head in reply as Tosen opened up a _Garganta _and stepped through it followed by Aizen while still sporting his smirk.

When he entered, he quickly fixed his hair to how it used to be before going into his pocket and pulling out his glasses, _'I have great plans for you boy...do not disappoint me.'_ Thought the man as the _Garganta _closed behind him leaving only the Espada in the room.

* * *

Finally done, now that I'm past this, I can get on with the better stuff and maybe make my chapters a bit longer than 4,000. Anyway, just want to say for the record, the thing Aizen used to make Naruto an Arrancar was NOT the Hogyouku. Call me crazy, but me and a friend of mine are pretty sure Aizen had another way of doing it before the Hogyouku became an option. Don't quote me on that, but it would explain how Espada like Nel and some of the others were made into Arrancars before Aizen left Seireitei.

Anyways R&R and to all of you that voted for the number thanks a bunch.


	4. The Evaluation

YO! Its been forever since I've updated this and I just want to explain myself before you all decide to beat me to death. The main reason I haven't updated this is not just for the fact that I was working on my other story, though it is one of the reasons. The key reason is because I wanted to see what the other Espada's abilities were so I didn't have to make them up or have to go back to fix the errors of this story. Other than that, I have no excuse and I just want to say sorry to all those who have been patently waiting for this update. Also, I just wanted to inform you guys that I got a new beta reader/co-writer so please re-read the first few chapters if you haven't already. Not much has changed but I can easily say that its improved since DarkFayt started helping me out. Well, I've made you wait long enough and so, here it is!

"Talking" Person Talking

_"Talking"_ Person Thinking/Techniques

**"Talking" **Hollow Talking

**_"Talking"_ **Hollow Thinking

I don't own Naruto or Bleach and that's all I need to say.

* * *

Cirucci Thunderwitch was not a patient person, not by any stretch of the word. There were certain situations where she could be, but majority of the time she just couldn't stand it. Hence why she was so angry at the moment, she had been waiting for what felt like hours for the new recruit of Aizen's army and he had yet to show his face!

Sure, she knew who the hollow was _supposed_ to be. Who hadn't heard something about _the_ Kyuubi. She doubted that any of the rumors about the former Adjuchus class were true. Most likely he was just a Hollow that had managed to live a little longer then most and had an image of a legendary warrior placed over him…with rumors like having devoured a Vasto Lorde to reach his Adjuchus status who could believe?

When she really thought about it…it was somewhat understandable why she didn't believe in the rumors about him. Seeing as how, with an exception of a scant few Arrancar and Espada, no one had been around long enough to prove the claims…even if they had tried.

Even among the other Espada none have even lived half as long as Kyuubi. Even then none of them had ever encountered Kyuubi during his long life. But, there was still the fact that Honcho Mundo was a huge place and that it was rare for you to run into the same Hollow more than once unless you were deliberately looking for them.

"Surviving for Nine-hundred years my ass." Growled out the woman in annoyance. "I doubt he's even stronger than me."

"You want to repeat that wench?" Snarled a voice from behind her.

Gasping, she whirled around, weapon in hand, only to freeze when she felt a clawed hand grip her neck and lift her off her feet. She struggled for a moment, trying desperately to free herself from the person's grasp, only for the person's hand to release her, causing her to collapse to the ground with a thud. Grimacing, she sent a glare up to the person who dared touch her only for her eyes to widen.

The person who was now towering above her, was none-other than the man who she'd been waiting not so patiently for. His hair was now in a single ponytail with his bangs still hanging loosely over his face, framing it perfectly. His outfit, was similar to the standard Arrancar outfits, a white jacket, white Hakama, black sash, black socks…everything. Though with one minor difference. That one thing was that his jacket no longer had sleeves since it was evident that he had ripped them off at some point. He also left the jacket slightly opened, with only the upper chest being visible. Other than that, nothing else was different from most of the others.

Naruto gave the woman who was currently staring at him a mild glare while flaring a bit of his reiatsu which caused her to flinch a bit before hurrying to her feet.

Dusting herself off, she glared back at the man in front of her while gripping the leather of her whip which was connected to a spinning disk on the end of the said whip.

"Where the hell have you been Kyuubi-_sama_?" asked the woman with sarcasm dripping off her tongue as she spoke. Naruto narrowed his eyes at her before lazily slinging his arm on the hilt of his sword, which was now secured to the left side of his hip.

"Taking a stroll."

"Huh?"

"Did I stutter woman, I. Was. Taking. A. Stroll."

Cirucci's eye twitched in annoyance as she continued to glare at the blonde before giving an un-lady like snort while brushing her hair over her shoulder. "For what, Kyuubi-_sama_?"

In the blink of an eye, Naruto had grabbed Cirucci by her shoulders, whirled her around, and slammed her into the wall, causing multiple cracks to arise due to the force in which was put behind the action.

The woman bit her lip in pain for a moment while doing her best not to show that the attack had done anything before feeling the tip of something sharp being pressed near her throat. Glancing down, she found that it was one of his claws, with the tip barely touching the skin.

"That is none of your concern wench." Snarled Naruto while flaring his reiatsu causing the woman's eyes to widen due to the severe pressure of it. "Keep up the sarcasm and I'll be more than happy to demonstrate how easily I can kill you."

With that said he pushed himself away from the woman before stepping back and glaring at her. Seeing as how she had finally got the message, he jerked his head down the hall, signifying her to lead the way to where his evaluation was to take place. Wordlessly, the woman obeyed and thus, began leading him through the long corridors of the large structure known as Las Naches.

As they walked, Naruto's eyes shifted towards those that were around him and found that most of those who inhabited the area weren't as strong as he had expected. Sure, there were a scant few that they came across that had a decent amount of power, yet none of them were near the level of those who he had met the other day. Though, there was one thing about these weaklings that Naruto did like…that when they had taken notice of him, they immediately broke out into faint whispers and mutterings.

"T-There he is, Kyuubi-sama!"

"Are the rumors really true? Has he really been alive for nine hundred years?"

"I thought Kyuubi-sama was just a myth!"

"I guess Aizen really did convince Kyuubi-sama to join us. Now this war will be over a lot faster."

Oh how the Arrancar's supposed private conversations perked up Naruto's day. It brought a smirk to his face knowing that even after all these years his kind still talked about him. Though, now that he was here, it answered the question as to why he wasn't able to find something worth fighting while he was in Hueco Mundo before deciding to find a new prey in the human world.

Upon thinking of the human world, Naruto's thoughts began to travel back to the young man who he had been selected as his newest prey. Kurosaki Ichigo was the boy's name if he remembered correctly.

The boy was interesting to say the least. With the majority of the encounters he'd had with a lone Shinigami, some form of reinforcements always arrived shortly. One of the reasons he always ended his fights quickly but most of the time a Vice-Captain or a Third Seated officer was sent.

Yet with Ichigo, he had the aid of not only a former Shinigami Captain, but that of a Quincy as well. Why a Quincy? Who hated Shinigami just as much as he did had aided a one of them Naruto didn't know. Course he didn't care all that much either at the time, since it only served to make the battle even more enjoyable than usual. Now though…it just made the hunt all that more appealing.

"What are you smirking about Kyuubi-sama?" asked Cirucci irritably while continuing to guide her charge down more corridors.

Naruto didn't reply to her question, instead his smirk had stayed in place while, out of habit, he began flexing his claws. Over his long lifespan, Naruto had built up a habit of flexing them whenever he was truly excited about something. Most of those times, revolved around him killing a Shinigami or just simply brawling with another Hollow.

"Kyuubi-sama!" snapped the woman, bringing Naruto out of his thoughts. "We have arrived."

Glaring at her back, Naruto glanced at the large white double doors. Raising an eyebrow, Naruto placed his hand on the door and with an effortless push, the doors swung open. He had to shield his eyes due to the blinding sunlight from the outside.

'Wait, sunlight?' Thought Naruto while blinking a few times to get himself readjusted to the light.

Glancing around, he saw that he was currently on a balcony overlooking the desert of white sand with huge red pillars scattered all around the vast desert. It was at this point, that he noticed that somebody else was on the balcony with him. Once he had been accustomed to the light, he realized that it was the old man he had seen yesterday who was currently seated on a skull-adorned throne.

Taking advantage of the sunlight, Naruto took this time to study the old geezer. He was old; that much was obvious, while at the same time gave off an aura of superiority and ruthlessness around him. The remnant of his mask was what looked like a five-pointed crown. He bared two large visible scars on his face, one on the left side of his chin and the other across his right eye. His attire was normal with the exception of a short sleeved jacket with a furred collar.

Also, in addition to a standard obi, he wore a belt consisting of three thick chains with a sun-crested buckler attached to them. All in all, he looked like the type of man that would be considered the leader among the group of people he had seen yesterday.

"Ah, you have arrived." Spoke the man as he turned his cold gaze towards him. "Then let us proceed with the evaluation shall we?"

Nodding his head, Naruto watched as the man heaved himself off his seat while the said throne began to dissolve into the air. When the chair was gone, the elderly Espada gave him a quick once over before nodding to himself. What the man was nodding about, Naruto had no clue.

"What happens now?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

The man stuck a thinking pose; mostly it was him just stroking his beard thoughtfully, before disappearing. Naruto's eyes widened until he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, Naruto quickly smacked the hand away, whirled around with his claws at the extended, and slashed along the man's chest. When his claws connected, however, he felt his eyes widen further as they slid along his skin with bits of sparks flying off but not leaving so much of a scratch on him.

"Good instincts Kyuubi." Congratulated the elderly Espada before snatching the blonde's wrist with his right hand. "But, not good enough."

Suddenly, with strength he had not suspected the man to possess, he was tossed into the air before colliding with one of the nearby red pillars, forming a small crater with a cloud of dust obscuring his vision. When the dust cleared, Naruto found that the old man was now hovering high above him with a frown on his face. Snarling, Naruto forced himself out of the rubble and sprung off the pillar towards his opponent, with claws extended. He was nearly in front of the man when the man suddenly appeared in front of him with his fist connecting with Naruto's jaw.

The force of this one punch sent Naruto through the pillar he had just came from and into the depths of white sand below. Yet, surprisingly, when Naruto had rose out of the sand with some falling off his shoulders it was if nothing had happened.

"_How the? That should have broken my jaw at least…but, I barely even felt it…"_ In fact it felt like he was hit by just a regular attack, despite the obviously large amount of force that was put behind it.

"I see you have taken notice to your _Hierro_ capabilities." Spoke Barragan who had suddenly appeared behind him with his hand rubbing his chin in thought once again.

"My what?" asked Naruto, trying his best not to show his surprise by the man's sudden appearance.

"_Hierro_, or steel skin. It's a natural defense which is a result of your compressed spiritual power that protects us in battle against a Shinigami's Zanpakutou. Also, depending on how strong your _Hierro_ is, you can rest assured that it will provide significant protection against just about anything."

After letting all this information sink in, Naruto felt a grin creep onto his features at the benefits of being an Arrancar compared to his previous form.

"However, since you are still adjusting to your new state, your _Hierro_ isn't as durable as most of the Espada yet but I must say it is far higher than most begin with…I had actually intended to knock you out just now…I would still advise though that you not to become too reliant on your _Hierro_ as of yet. You still have quite some time before you can be capable of withstanding some of the more…lethal attacks that Shinigami and Arrancar can bring forth."

"_Way to kill my mood old geezer."_ Thought the blonde with a scowl.

"Now, were did we leave off?"

Naruto's eyes widened at that and for the second time that day, Naruto acted on instinct and ducked under a kick that was about to connect with his ribs. Whirling around while still in a crouching position, Naruto leaped up, and drove his knee into the man's chin, causing his head to recoil back a bit. Not wasting any time, Naruto quickly gasped onto the elder man's shoulder's before shoving both his feet into his chest as he released his hold on his shoulders just as his feet connected.

This time, his opponent was the one who was sent rocketing back through the many dunes of sand while leaving a long cloud that was kicked up by his flight.

Once he touched down, Naruto grinned a bit at how far he sent his opponent and outstretched his hand. Soon, red reiatsu began to morph into a single red sphere in the center of his palm before finally forming a perfect ball of red energy in less than ten to thirty seconds.

"_Cero!_" announced the young man with a grin before unleashing his deadly attack.

Cirucci, who had stayed to watch the spar for a source of entertainment, smirked a bit as a large beam of red reiatsu was launched in the direction that Barragan was supposed to be. Course, she knew better than to think that someone as strong as he was would even be scratched by this attack, it did prove one thing. That, despite what she had previously thought, Kyuubi was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Sure, being able to perform Cero wasn't all that impressive, but doing so at the speed in which he had done for his first time as an Arrancar did show that he was defiantly talented in some aspects.

As the cloud of sand began to subside, Naruto stared out into the distance, keeping his guard on high alert just encase the old Espada tried to sneak up on him again. Even he knew that what he had just done more than likely would have little to no effect on the man who could appear out of nowhere in two seconds flat.

"Yet again, you have impressed me Kyuubi." Hollered a familiar voice from above.

Glancing up into the sky, he found Barragan once again floating in mid air with an amused look in his eye with his hands hidden in his coat pockets. Upon closer inspection, about the only sign that anything had happened to the man was that his clothes were a bit dirty, nothing more, nothing less.

"I must give you credit, I had not expected you to prepare a Cero at such a high speed. Very few can do such a thing in the span of a few seconds let alone on their first day as an Arrancar. For that, I applaud you Kyuubi."

"What can I say," Replied the blonde with a shrug, "I had plenty of time to learn how to conjure one quickly in my lifetime. Just never used the stupid thing is all."

"And why's that?"

"More fun to kill Shinigami with my claws instead of a Cero. How do you eat something that's been blown apart?"

"In any case, let us proceed with shall we?"

"Yeah, lets!"

With that said, Naruto dug his foot into the ground for a moment, before pushing off flying through the air towards the Espada at high speeds. Had he cared to notice, he would have heard the brief sound of static as he shot towards his opponent.

Once Naruto reached his target, he launched a fist at the man's skull, who had effortlessly blocked his attack with his forearm. Growling Naruto pulled his arm back and leapt into the air again twisting his body to send a roundhouse kick to Barragan's face. Again, Naruto's attack was useless, as the elderly man had ducked under the attack, with his foot barely missing the man's crown. When he landed onto the invisible ground below him, he quickly spring-boarded himself towards his opponent, with his claws extended once more.

Swiping his claws at Barragan, the man easily evaded it as his attack went sailing over his head. What the man didn't expect, however, was for Naruto to spin around in a complete circle while twisting his body, until his still outstretched claws were now being brought down vertically. The elder Espada smirked a bit as he leaned his head back, sending his entire body with him, thus dodging the attack. But, he wasn't finished as the moment he dodged the claw swipe, he aimed a kick to the Arrancar's ribs before back flipping in mid-air, with Naruto still on his foot that was now deep into his ribs.

Just as he was in an upright position, he forced the young man off his foot which resulted in Naruto crashing into the ground at high speeds. It was clear that Naruto was indeed skilled, though he still needed time to grow since this was his first day as an Arrancar.

"This is truly amazing…his adaptation and instincts are second to none. He could easily become an Espada with enough time. As it stands he most likely just stronger then 9th Blade right now but not quite 8th. Most Arrancar have a horribly difficult time adjusting to fighting in a human form. Especially a former beast type like Kyuubi…and yet not only does he seem completely used to his body it's as if he was trained already…could it be that he was a type of warrior when he was human? He is said to be nearly 900 years old. There are only a hand full of Shinigami or Hollow that can claim that. And, could his former training be returning to him while he's fighting in a human body again? Too many question for such a short test…I will have to watch him closely…"

Thought Barragan as he stared down at Naruto, who was now climbing back on his feet, he raised his hand with each of his fingers pointed out towards the blonde.

"_Bala_." Muttered Barragan as small blue spheres appeared on the tip of each of his fingers.

Naruto, who was still recovering from Barragan's previous attack, surprisingly heard the man despite the distance between the two. Glancing up, he wasn't given a second to prepare himself, as a barrage of quickly approaching blue objects came flying towards him at speeds that he couldn't dodge. When the first blue sphere had struck his shoulder, he was almost immediately brought to his knees due to the amount of pain that had coursed through his body. What made it even more annoying in his eyes, was that his _Hierro_ had done very little in taking the blunt of the damage. Soon, he felt a second bullet connected with his knee, causing his body to collapse onto the white sand as more and more bullets came raining down upon his back.

Cirucci winced a bit as she heard Naruto's pain-filled cries as Barragan continued to launch more and more _Bala_ to the blonde's body. Normally she was never one to openly show pity towards anyone, yet even she knew that going this far was a bit much for just a new recruit, especially since he had just recently turned into an Arrancar.

When Barragan finally stopped his assault, he was greeted with the sight of Naruto lying face down in the sand with his back now completely littered with puncture holes. Scuffing, Barragan once again vanished out of thin air before appearing in front of Naruto with a frown on his face. Staring down at the young man who was currently groaning in immense pain, he watched with interest as the wounds began to heal at such a rapid pace that even he had never seen before. Not even some of the best medics that resided in Las Noches could heal at the rate which Naruto was displaying. Before he could ponder more about it, however, he saw that Naruto was now struggling to return to his feet, while growling loudly the entire time.

"Why haven't you drawn your sword, Kyuubi?" asked the elderly Espada curiously.

Naruto, who was now back to his feet and glaring daggers at him, stopped his one-sided glaring and stared down at his sword, as if just realizing that he had it.

"To be honest, I kind of forgot I had it with me." Stated the blonde with a shrug, while not noticing Barragan's eye twisting in annoyance. "I'm too used to fighting with my claws and tails so I guess, since I'm lacking my tails, that I relied on my strength, speed, and claws to fight."

"Such reliance is unwise Kyuubi."

"Cut me some slack you old geezer, I'm still trying to get used to walking on two legs again instead of four!"

The two stood in silence for a moment, one seething a bit in anger and frustration while the other calm and a bit of understanding. While Barragan couldn't relate to Naruto in anyway, he could recall Grimmjow facing the same issues for the first couple of days when he had turned into an Arrancar himself. Just the memory of the former Panther menos falling face first into the ground due to tripping over his feet brought an amused smirk to his wrinkled face.

"Regardless," Stated the man after regaining his composure. "I would like you to draw your sword so we may proceed with the evaluation."

Nodding Naruto quickly grasped the hilt of his katana and swiftly unsheathed it from its scabbard. Upon closer inspection of the blade, Barragan noticed that it didn't seem to be reflecting off the light coming from the sun's rays.

"Aren't you going to use your weapon?" asked Naruto while placing the sword over his right shoulder.

"Please," scuffed the Espada, "I highly doubt that, at your current level, you would inflict any injury upon me."

Narrowing his eyes at his statement, Naruto removed the blade off his shoulder and rushed forward with his sword held at a horizontal arc. Expecting this sort of reaction from him, Barragan lazily raised his forearm to block the incoming attack with no hesitation. The blade soon connected, and just as he predicted, the blade wasn't able to break passed his skin. The blonde struggled for a moment, putting as much force as he could in hopes of breaking through his Hierro but with no success. Seeing as how this was doing nothing, Naruto allowed his blade to slide off the man's arm before twisting his blade back towards his opponent and swinging once again.

This time, however, Barragan actually caught his sword with his bare hand, causing Naruto's eyes to widen slightly. Before he could react, the Espada had vanished once more until he re-appeared standing to his left with his left arm cocked back. He was fortunate that he had noticed him when he did, because when the man had sent what looked like a powerful left hook to his jaw, he was able to duck under the attack and thrust his sword into his abdomen. He was disappointed though when the sound of metal connecting with steel rung throughout the area as his blade bounced off the man's, evidently, thick skin.

Not wanting to leave himself open for another attack, Naruto quickly somersaulted back just in time to avoid Barragan's fist that had almost connected with his skull. Retracting his fist from the ground, the elderly Espada glanced at Naruto who finally came to a stop a few feet away from him and was currently forming another Cero in his palm.

"_Ce_-" Before Naruto could launch his attack; Barragan had appeared in front of him, with his own _Cero_ in hand that was pointed down at his chest.

"We will not be having anymore of that." Muttered the man before firing his own attack.

The results blew both Naruto and Cirucci away, the latter of which was quite literally. The blast that was fired was staggering compared to when Naruto had used his. And whatever was in the blast radius was pushed back due to the tremendous force of the attack. Things like the multiple columns scattered throughout the desert were pushed over, collapsed under the pressure, or just plain destroyed. All the while, Cirucci was amazed and confused as to why Barragan would go so far on someone who Aizen himself had great interest in.

"I just don't understand." Muttered the woman while rubbing her temples.

"What's not to understand, Cirucci?" asked a calm feminine voice from behind her. "

Flinching, Cirucci whirled around to face that of yet another blonde haired individual. This one, however, was a dark skinned female with her hair tied into two braids. She wore an oddly-cut variation on the Arrancar jacket with long sleeves and bared most of her midriff as well as a good portion of her chest. The collar of her shorter than normal jacket kept a majority of her face from view with two small pieces of what remained of her mask on each of her cheeks. Currently, her three _fracción _members were absent along with her Zanpakutou.

"H-Halibel-sama!" stammered Cirucci before bowing respectively to the Espada. "You startled me a bit ma'am."

"You have yet to answer my question Cirucci." Replied the woman while leveling the other woman with a stern look on her features.

"I'm, um, just curious as to why Barragan-sama is exerting more force in this evaluation."

The woman, now known as Halibel, continued to stare at her for a moment before shifting her gaze towards the ground, were Naruto now stood panting with the upper portion of his body was severely burned, with most of his skin burnt away. Yet, as she continued to watch him, she noticed that steam was steadily rising off his body, while new skin began to replace that of which that had been previously burnt off.

"Interesting." Muttered the dark skinned woman, yet not loud enough for Cirucci to hear her.

"Halibel-sama?"

Focusing her attention back to the woman in front of her, she replied. "I believe the reason in which Barragan is being so…extensive in this evaluation is to note of any unique capabilities that Kyuubi may have."

"Why, I mean, with all respect Halibel-sama Kyuubi seems quite similar to most other Arrancar. Given, he is powerful, but I have yet to notice anything that can be noted unique about him."

Narrowing her eyes a bit at the woman, she couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that the blonde Arrancar's regeneration capabilities were being unnoticed by the _Puribaron. _Shaking her head, she turned to leave only to stop when she felt a large spike of reiatsu coming from down below.

**Back on the Ground **

Naruto wasn't happy about the situation he was currently in. He never thought that a _Cero_ could be as powerful as it was and yet he knew that it couldn't possibly be the strongest one the man could conjure. To top it all off, his entire body was screaming in unspeakable pain. Hell, he hadn't been this injured since the time he had gotten cocky after he had just become an Adjuchas class and fought a Shinigami Captain. Needless to say, he would have died had it not been for the fact that a _Garganta _had opened in the middle of the battle allowing a group of Gillian's to interfere with his battle and thus, un-initially aided him in his escape. Now though was a different story, he was fighting a man who was stronger, faster, and overall better than him in every way with no chance of him escaping.

"Kyuubi," Spoke the man, who had appeared in front of him once again with a piercing gaze. "I have nearly seen all that is necessary in this evaluation. However, before we can officially declare this test finished, I must witness your released state."

"My what?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Your released or in other terms, your original Hollow state."

"How does that work?"

"Must you be so ignorant." Sighed the man, ignoring Naruto's twitching eyebrow. "It is triggered by a process we call _resurrección. _In this process, you will draw your Zanpakutou, and call forth your previous form. Mind you the changes are partial so you will still retain a humanoid shape; however your strength, speed, and overall abilities will be heightened to an extent while also allowing you to regain your previous abilities."

"So, in other words, my sword is like a key to unlock my old self and powers?"

"…If it makes things less complicating for you than yes."

Naruto, instead of getting angry at the old man's comment, stared down at his sword. He noticed that he could see his reflection on the pitch black blade, yet it made him curious as to why it didn't reflect the sun's rays. As he stared, he realized that, despite a few minor changes, he looked just like he did back when he was alive and young. Though, how Naruto could still remember what he looked like was beyond him. He bit back a sigh when he noticed that his once azure blue eyes were now replaced with deep crimson.

Suddenly, as he took one last glance at his eyes, he noticed that his katana began to radiate a deep crimson aura around it. Soon, the sand that was around him began to shift away from the blonde. As the said blonde continued to stare at his sword, oblivious to everything that was going on around him, he saw that his reflection on the sword smirk. This alone freaked him out, and if he hadn't been holding his katana so tightly, he more than likely would have accidently dropped it. It was after he recovered from his surprise did he hear it.

"_You know what must be done,"_ Whispered a voice from out of nowhere. Glancing around, he found that no one was even remotely near him. _"Embrace it, and return to your former glory!"_

After hearing those words, something in his mind snapped. Like something that had been long since forgotten had finally remembered. At that point he had felt his body beginning to move on its own accord. His sword was now held out in front of him with the tip pointing towards his naval. When he realized what was about to accrue he panicked tried to regain some control over his body, yet none of his limbs would respond.

"_Embrace it Uzumaki Naruto."_ Whispered the voice once more, this time it seemed to be in a soothing tone, as though it sensed his panicked state.

After hearing the voice once again, he closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, though the task itself was difficult. Once he regained his composer he saw his weapon being reared back until the tip was no longer hovering over his abdomen.

"Igamiai," Said Naruto, not understanding himself what he was saying. But at this point, he had put his faith in whatever was happening to him. "Kyuubi no Yoko!"

Barragan watched, just as Naruto uttered those last words, as he thrust his sword deep into his abdomen. The Espada watched as Naruto opened his mouth to let out a silent scream while beams of crimson energy burst from his mouth and eye sockets. Soon, more of the blood red energy had shot out from the Arrancar's abdomen, directly from the position where he had stabbed himself. As the beams of energy began to grow, his vision began to become obscured by the whirling sand that was beginning to rise off the ground by some unknown source.

Now, Naruto's body could no longer be seen though the massive wall of sand and rubble that was now swirling around him and towering above everything else in the area. A few moments of watching this, Barragan was beginning to get curious as to what Naruto's released state would be. It was only a few moments later when he felt it.

Rage, bloodlust, death, and suffering that was radiating from inside the maelstrom of sand and debris just ahead of him. He couldn't help but smirk as all these things came pouring out in waves and spreading throughout the area like a pelage. Halibel herself was now just as interested as she was before in who was currently in the eye of the maelstrom.

Suddenly, two blood red eyes snapped open, piercing through the spiraling sand like a strobe light and were currently glaring at Barragan with what he assumed was anger. Yet the elderly Espada still couldn't make out his body though the swirling sands, merely outlines of it. But what he could see very clearly, were the shadowy outlines of nine skinny tails fluttering in the high winds behind him. He felt a small smirk begin to spread across his face as the winds steadily died down and with only one thought in mind.

"_Incredible."_

**Later that day**

The sound of sandals brushing along the ground echoed throughout the corridor as Barragan headed into the meeting hall of Las Noches. Sure, he could have just used a _Garganta _to get him there faster, but he just didn't feel like it. Mostly because he was in the mood to walk instead of abuse his ability.

After walking down the corridor for a few moments, he spotted the doors leading to the meeting hall. When he reached them, he slammed his palm into the center of each door, thus causing both doors to swing open and allow the man entry.

Inside the room was nothing special, simply a long table that took up most of the room with multiple chairs to accommodate the Espada and Aizen's two other Shinigami companions. However, sitting in the third seat on the right closest to the back, sat a man in a standard Arrancar outfit with the exception of a pair of white gloves on each hand. He had shoulder-length dark hair which was parted down the middle along with a goatee. The remains of his hollow mask consisted of a bottom jaw that was positioned like a necklace while his hollow hole was positioned on his sternum, right below the tip of his mask.

Currently, the man's eyes were closed with his chest rising and falling indicating that the man was asleep. Barragan grunted in annoyance before walking over towards the man and bashing his skull into the table. Despite this, the man only opened his eye and glanced at him lazily before yawning loudly. After that, he began to rub his eyes a bit to wake himself up before glancing back at the elderly man behind him who was still looking rather annoyed.

"What was so important that you had to wake me up for?" asked the man while resting his head on his palm with his elbow positioned on the table.

"I had completed Kyuubi's evaluation Stark." Replied Barragan noticing that he now had the man's complete attention. "I figured you would like to hear the results."

"I see." Replied the man now known as Stark before his poster became serious. "Were there any abnormalities as Aizen-sama expected?"

"Yes, he displayed rapid healing capabilities greater than even Ulquiorra could perform and was quick to adjust with his Arrancar capabilities. Though, my assumption is that he may have even some skills that may manifest as he adjusts."

"What has drawn that conclusion?"

"Aside from the rapid healing capabilities, he seemed to have rather sharp instincts that had managed to aid him in avoiding some of my attacks. Though, it could merely be coincidence, I suspect that in time more abilities may be unraveled in time."

Stark sat in silence as he took on this information while constantly nodding his head. Though, part of him could care less about Kyuubi, Aizen had a key interest in the lad and he had been ordered to note anything that was worth interest. After several moments of silence, he glanced back at Barragan before asking. "What of his released state?"

Barragan simply smirked slightly before answering. "Aizen-sama has made the perfect choice in selecting him as our newest recruit."

Stark noticed the smirk and couldn't help but straighten himself up even further in his chair as he gestured Barragan to proceed with the information. By the time Barragan had finished, Stark was left speechless at what he had been informed of. After it had all sunken in, he immediately stood up, almost knocking the chair over, before snapping his fingers.

A few moments later, a pale green blur burst into the room and practically flung itself onto stark, had he not caught it by the scuff of its vest. The blur was soon identified as a young female Arrancar with short pale green hair. Her attire consisted of a pair of white briefs and vest over her chest while her hollow hole positioned in the center of her outfit. The remnant of her mask was what looked like of a helmet with a sort of eyepiece that also extended over her left eye, which was decorated with a flame-like pattern. The said young girl pouted a bit as she stared back at Stark while squirming a bit to try and free herself from his hold.

"You're no fun Stark-sama." Whined the girl while still pouting.

She was soon silenced by the stern look he had on his features as he looked down at her. Instantly, she too became serious and once she was released she was had stood at full attention. Whenever Stark looked this serious, it meant there was no room for playing around and that it was strictly business.

"Lilinette," Spoke Stark calmly. "please gather the Espada into the meeting hall immediately. This is rather important and should any of them give you any trouble, report back to me and I shall deal with them. Once you have informed all of the Espada, locate Kyuubi and inform him of this meeting as well."

"Hai Stark-sama." Bowed the girl now known as Lilinette before excusing herself to proceed with her orders.

**With Naruto**

The sound ripping cloth could be heard echoing throughout the dark room in which Naruto was occupied in. After tossing the other sleeve of his jacket to the floor, Naruto placed it back on before sighing. He spared the high elevated window a glance as the moons bright light shined through, illuminating the entire room in the process. Soon, he found himself staring at the moon with a glazed look in his eyes.

Turning his head away from the window, he sat on his bed, with his elbows propped onto his knees while brushing his hands through his blond locks. After doing this several times, he stopped suddenly before standing to his feet and outstretching his hand. A few seconds later, a small rip began to form in front of him before it opened and to grew wider and wider until all that could be seen was a black void big enough to fit him in. He calmly stepped inside before the void began to close, leaving him alone in the darkness for a few moments with only one thought in mind.

"_Time for a visit." _

* * *

Well, there you have it people, the next chapter of Life Lingers After Death. Again sorry for the very long update but, as I said up top, I had my reasons and I don't regret stalling this either. Now I know what just about everyone in the show can do and it will make things that much easier for me in this story. So, R&R and don't worry, the next update will be way soon than it took for this one.


	5. The Rank

YO!!!! Been a while hasn't it. Yeah, I know that its been forever and a half since I've updated this but, to be honost, the same reason for my last stalling for the last chapter still remains. I wanted to see what all the other Espada's abilities and releases looked like so that I didn't fuck up too much. However, aside from that, the main reason for this delay was mostly the most common thing among other really good authors. Simply put, its a thing called life, something that I have and try to maintain. Mind you, I do love writing my stories, but life comes before anything else, period. But, aside from that, I do have something I wish to adress before I proceed with the chapter, and that is Naruto's strength level. To most people who have asked me "Why is Naruto so weak? He's been around for 900 years so why can't he take on an Arrancar?" To answer this question, you really need to ask yourself this. Would you read the story if Naruto was badass from the getgo without any build up? If you answered yes, then your retarded and you should stop reading this story for a while. If you answered no, then you see my point. With that said, I think I've taken up too much time writing this so, without any delay, here's my fifth chapter to Life Linger's After Death!

"Talking" Person Talking

_"Talking"_ Person Thinking/Techniques

**"Talking" **Hollow Talking

**_"Talking"_ **Hollow Thinking

I don't own Naruto or Bleach and that's all I need to say.

* * *

Hueco Mundo was a vast place, that much was obvious with its endless deserts stretching as far as the eye could see. And in its vastness, it remained almost devoid of anything with the exception of a few Hollow scouring the dunes in search of food and dead withered trees. Yet, white sand wasn't all that could be found in the giant wasteland, as remains of several old and destroyed buildings could be found in many locations around Hueco Mundo.

Among these many areas, one that had stuck out the most was an area completely covered in withered trees along with a large stone walls that rose up several stories high. Though, it was nothing in comparison to Las Nachos, it was still an impressive height for something so old yet still standing. Yet, throughout the miles and miles of dead trees, the place seemed devoid of anything as not even the smallest of Hallows was seen anywhere near the tree-line.

Suddenly, on the top of the massive wall, a black void suddenly opened to reveal a blonde haired man garbed in white with his eyes shut. The man calmly stepped out of the void and onto the stone wall while the _Garganta_ closed quickly behind him. When Naruto opened his eyes, he felt a bit pained at the sight, even though he had seen it many times before. Buildings ranging from big to small were all left destroyed and crumbled over due to time and Akatsuki's weapon.

With a depressed sigh, Naruto leapt off the wall and collided with the ground below him, kicking up a cloud of sand in the process followed by a few chunks of stone that had fallen off the wall where he had stood before he began walking down a path with both hands shoved into his pockets. As he walked, Naruto took in his surroundings, reminiscing about all the things he had done along these roads when he was alive and young.

He saw the old book store that he and Konohamaru had snuck into so that he could show the lad how to perform a certain jutsu, though the name had escaped him after so many years. Continuing down the path, he found the bridge, or what was left of it, where he and his team had all met with their sensei all those years ago. He even found the small food stall that once used to belong to his best friends Tenshi and Ayame. Other than those key places, everything else he found were remains of the homes that had been either destroyed or had withered away due to time. After walking for what seemed like hours, he finally came to a stop near the location in which he wished to revisit, the Hokage Monument.

Even to this day, he thought it was astounding that it had remained unscathed during the unleashing of Akatsuki's ultimate weapon. Yet over the millennia, the faces began to fade and wither with time until soon, it was almost impossible to distinguish the faces that were once displayed proudly above the village for everyone to see once you looked up. Had he not lived here, dreamed of having his own face carved onto that mountain, he would not have known who they were or even remembered them after all these years.

So, with his destination reached, he stood rooted to the spot and stared at the faces as memories of **that** day invaded his mind.

_Flashback_

All throughout the world, the sky began to go from clear bright blue to pitch black with massive gray clouds beginning to form. Everyone from all sections of the Elemental Nations could see what was occurring, yet had not even the slightest idea of what was happening. Naruto, who was in the deep regions of Earth Country, glanced up at the sky and noticed the sudden changes of the weather. Raising a non-existent eyebrow, picked up the remains of a random Iwa ninja's body and chomped the man's head clean off before munching on it while keeping his eyes focused on the sky above.

He watched as the once scattered gray clouds began to form together into one massive one that had accommodated just about half the sky. Soon, bolts of lightning began to crackle inside the giant storm cloud while some even shot off towards the ground. Yet, as he continued to watch, the bolts began to grow larger and larger until even he was beginning to worry.

Finally, after several moments of watching, Naruto felt a powerful force building in the center of the clouds and could only watch as a single beam of bright white light burst from above and struck the ground.

The shockwave alone actually uprooted many large boulders and trees off the ground and pushed back with such force, that one would think that a hurricane had struck the area. After the shockwave, he saw a large dome of blinding white light beginning to spread and expand to great proportions while consuming just about everything in its path. As it steadily spread towards him, all he could do was shield his eyes from the blinding light before he too was consumed by the dome.

_End Flashback_

Naruto was disturbed from his thoughts when he felt a presence behind him. Snarling, he whirled around with his claws extended only to come face to face with a dark skinned blonde woman staring at him impassively. Now normally, he would have attacked anyway, regardless of gender, yet the reason he didn't was simply because he recognized her as one of the Espada that was in the room when he had been turned into an Arrancar by Aizen only two days ago.

"Kyuubi," Stated the woman in a stoic tone. "I have been sent to inform you that you are to be given your rank and that you are to return to Las Nachos as of immediately."

Naruto, only scuffed at this. What did it matter what kind of rank he was? It wasn't like there were any benefits for it so why bother? None the less, he nodded and watched as she opened up a _Garganta_ for both the Espada and himself to enter. Naruto wordlessly stepped inside to join her and a few seconds after the void had closed, it had re-opened just outside one of the three large pillars stationed around the main building.

After the two had exited the void, Halibel opened the door to the tower, showing a long flight of spiraling stares, before gesturing him to follow. Naruto could only sigh as he followed behind the woman up the stairs while mumbling about elevators. Though, he didn't complain too much on the matter since he was walking behind the woman and was given a decent look at her curves as they walked. Course, this only lasted a few minutes until he was beginning to get annoyed with the silence, so he decided to break it.

"You are an Espada correct?" asked Naruto in an attempt to start up some conversation.

"Yes." Was the woman's simple reply which annoyed the former fox Hollow further.

"So, how does your ranking system work?"

"Every Arrancar is given a number that specifies them as their rank. Arrancars with two digits are called _Números_, while three digit ones are _Tres Cifras_.

_Números _are the primary force of our army and as an Espada, we are given a subsection of the _Números_ that directly serve one of us called _Fracción. _Though the _Números_ are far stronger than those who are _Tres Cifras_, they are not anywhere near as powerful as the current or former members of the Espada."

"Former?" asked the blonde with a raised eyebrow.

"They are referred to as _Privaron_ and were the Espada before us that were created naturally until Aizen-sama had appeared. When he created us, we had taken their place and they were ranked among the _Tres Cifras_. Yet, despite their rank, they are still indeed more powerful than the _Números_."

"I would think they would hold some form of resentment towards the current Espada or would just up and leave."

"Some do resent us; others wish to reclaim their lost rank, which I highly doubt they will succeed in doing. Also, the reason they don't just "up and leave" is duo to fear of angering Aizen-sama. Even though they are not stronger than us, they are still useful to him and that is why they haven't been terminated yet."

"Geez, talk about obedience, if it had been me I would have just left."

"We would have located and eliminated you rather easily." Stated the woman calmly.

Naruto only smirked a bit at that remark before replying. "I've been around for nine-hundred years sweetheart, I think I know a few hiding places that, even with Grimmjow's help, you couldn't find. Besides, after that stunt I pulled off on the first day, I think it's safe to say you should not underestimate me."

He watched at the woman ceased her ascension up the stairs to turn and stare at the smirking Arrancar behind her. His smirk never left his face as he walked passed her and continued walking up the stairs before turning his head around to face her.

"If I ever wanted to disappear, I can very easily and very quickly do so." Was his last remark before glancing up to see that they were nearing the end of the staircase. He let out a relieved sigh before continuing upwards with Halibel not far behind him. The said woman was now looking at the blonde with a look of utter confusion. Was he really telling the truth when he said he could vanish that easily? She doubted it was true and that it was only a bluff but certain things made her question if that was true or not.

For one thing, he had held such confidence in these locations that he wasn't even intimidated by her comment of his termination should he leave. That and he did prove a point about his abilities, since he had managed to stop Grimmjow in his tracks by simply having a field advantage. Should he be in a territory that he is familiar with, she narrowed her eyes a bit at the thought of how dangerous the blond could be not only as an Arrancar but even in his previous form.

"Hey," Called out Naruto, forcing Halibel out of her thoughts. "Never did get your name or your rank, seeing as how I should show at least _some _respect to the Espada."

"Halibel, 3rd rank Espada." Answered the woman.

She had to stop herself from bumping into the blonde as he suddenly halted in place and whirled around with his hand outstretched. "Kyuubi."

The woman silently glanced at his outstretched hand before scuffing and pushing passed him. "We are behind schedule; let us proceed to the meeting hall."

The blonde Arrancar stared at her for a brief moment before glancing down at his hand. Scuffing he shoved his hands into his coat pockets and whirled around to continue climbing up the staircase after Halibel.

"Well it was nice to meet you too." Muttered the blonde darkly. "That's the last time I try to be respectful towards one of you people. At least Grimmjow was a bit more polite than your ass was."

Halibel, who had heard all this, couldn't help but scuff at his words. Grimmjow being polite? That was a laugh even if she wouldn't do so openly. Had any of the other Espada heard this, they more than likely would have burst into tears at even the thought of that man being polite to anyone.

She was glad to note that they had finally reached the top of the staircase and found a small hallway with two large white double-doors at the end of it leading to the meeting hall where Kyuubi would receive his rank. After walking down the hallway, she opened the doors to the dark room before gesturing Naruto to enter. The blonde nodded before stepping inside the room, only to duck under the kick that was sent to his head which had connected with the door and easily knocked off a large chunk of it. Whirling around, the blonde went to sweep the leg out from under his attacker only for the person to merely vanish before re-appearing with his fist ready to connect with his opponent's face, had Naruto not caught it with his hand.

Growling in annoyance, Naruto steadily rose to his feet with his attacker's fist still in hand before sending his own fist to his opponent's face, which the attacker had caught as well. His opponent growled as he tried to force the blonde back while Naruto dug his heels into the ground to keep from being pushed back.

"Heh, good to see your still got those reflexes of yours Kyuubi." Remarked Grimmjow with a cocky smirk.

Naruto gave the man a small smirk before pushing his rival's fist back as he replied, "What can I say, it's just natural."

"Enough!" Ordered Barragan as he appeared in-between the two and split them apart from each other. "We have matter's to attend to, once Kyuubi's rank is administered then you may do as you please."

Grimmjow and Naruto both shared a quick glance before scuffing and stepping away from the elderly Espada. Neither wanted to fight the man, Naruto cause he had already done so once and wasn't looking forward to another while Grimmjow because the man was a higher rank than he was.

"Now that the childish skirmish is over, let us begin." Said Stark as all the Espada filed into their perspective seats at the table. Naruto, being the only one standing, began searching for a seat, only to come up short. At that point, he noticed three chairs at the edge of the meeting table and shrugged before taking the one in the middle. Some of the Espada spared him a glance before dismissing him and turning their attention to Stark, who was currently on the opposite end of the table looking straight at Naruto.

"Before we begin I would like to ask where you went. I understand you have special conditions and privileges with Aizen-sama, which he had agreed to, but I would like to have some general clue as to where you were located for future reference."

"_Or so you can keep tabs on me while Aizen ain't around."_ Thought Naruto to himself. _"Honestly, who do these fools think their dealing with here?"_

Despite his thoughts, Naruto portrayed a look of boredom as all the Espada around him stared intently at him. "I have no need to inform you of the exact location as to where I was, but I will inform you of my departure the next time I do leave."

"I must attest to that Kyuubi." Replied Barragan sternly. "Should there be a time where your services are required, we must be aware of your location so as not to be searching aimlessly throughout Hueco Mundo to find you."

"Grimmjow knows most of my whereabouts. I would suggest if that opportunity arises when I am needed then inform him and he shall retrieve me. However, as it still stands, I have no intention of revealing my destinations to you. Should this prove a problem, inform Aizen and see what he says." '_And if my hunch is correct, he should have no issues with this if he wants my assistance_.'

Barragan shot a brief glance toward Stark who nodded before answering. "Acceptable, just be sure to inform us before your departure."

Even though Stark didn't like Kyuubi holding such information, he felt that it would be a waste of both theirs and Aizen's time should they try to contact him about the matter. The last thing he needed was for Aizen to be annoyed at being contacted, while still in Seireitei and at risk of being discovered, over such a trivial matter.

"Understood."

"Good, now onto business." Replied Stark before placing his elbow on the table and fixing Naruto with an even stare. "Kyuubi has recently been evaluated by Barragan and is currently awaiting his rank. As he had concluded, Kyuubi is marked with excellent skill and unique capabilities that cannot be ignored."

"What kind of abilities?" asked a dark skinned man with what looked like a small row of bony spikes extending along the crest of his head.

"Rapid healing capabilities, very high reiatsu levels and-"

"The rest is confidential." Interrupted Naruto with a stern glare directed to Barragan.

This caused everyone to turn their attention back to him while some of the others to glare in annoyance. Of course, he could care less if they found his outbursts annoying or not.

"Confidential," asked a man with long black hair and a white eye-patch covering left side of his face. "What kind of bullshit is that?"

"I have my reasons for keeping things secret, and they shall remain secret until I feel it is necessary to reveal them." Spoke the blonde calmly with both his eyes closed.

"Any specific reason as to why you wish for them to stay secret?" Asked Stark curiously.

"He's always been like that." Spoke Grimmjow surprisingly. "Even when I fought him back in the day he refused to use a majority of his skills. Personally, I think he holds back because he wants to surprise his opponents, that and he obviously doesn't trust us entirely as of yet."

All other Espada shared quick glances with each other, each holding the same look of curiosity. It was understandable that he didn't trust them yet, but the thought of what he was holding back intrigued some of them to a great extent. After all, hearing all the talk going on about him some were just itching to see what kind of tricks the Arrancar had up his sleeve.

"That aside, it was made apparent that Kyuubi-san's abilities cannot be ignored and that placing him as a _Números _would simply be a waist. His experience in many battles dealing with Shinigami also proves to be very beneficial in future confrontations."

"So, what are ya sayin'." asked the man with the eye-patch. "He's going to be an Espada or somethin'?"

Stark could only sigh before nodding his head. "It seems to me that it's the only option we have at the moment Noitra."

"He could be a _Fracción._" Stated another Espada who had pink hair and glasses.

Barragan only shook his head at that suggestion. "Such a rank is not fitting for one of his level. With raw power, it can easily be said that he is equivalent to Halibel, myself, and Stark's level. However, his skills in actual combat are lacking due to his transformation thus had made rank to that of yourself or Zommari's level. Overall, I would have to rank him among the middle ranks."

"So, your saying somebody should just move over and let this guy become an Espada just like that?" Asked a giant dark skinned man.

"We have no other options at this point Yammy." Replied Stark with a sigh. "As such, Kyuubi shall be given the rank of-"

"I will not stand for this!" shouted a voice followed by the sound of his fists slamming against the table in anger. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say that our ranks should be stripped from us just because he is favored by Aizen-sama!"

"This does not concern you, therefore, you have no reason to object to this decision." Replied Barragan while sending the man an icy glare.

The Espada who had spoken out, was what Naruto assumed was a man wearing a tall white mask with eight small holes over his head. He wore a dress garb that coved his entire body as opposed to the normal jacket and hakama. He also wore a frilly nobles' coat as a replacement for the jacket along with two white gentleman's gloves. Overall, in Naruto's eyes, the guy looked rather odd looking.

As Naruto took in the man's appearance, he turned his attention onto the blonde before scuffing and turning his attention back to Barragan. "With all due respect Barragan-sama, personally I cannot and will not simply hand over my position nor will the others. Our abilities are the reason that we've retained our status as Espada and I can only assume that we all plan to keep our positions."

"Be that as it may Aaroniero, I can say that Kyuubi has-"

"I don't mind being a _Fracción _unit." Stated Naruto suddenly, interrupting Barragan and causing him and Stark to look back at him curiously. "Personally, I could care less what rank I am, whether it be the 1st or the 100th. Just because I have a higher number doesn't make me any less strong than most others. In fact, this action could prove useful as those Shinigami scum will be caught off guard when they encounter me and assume I'm a weak Arrancar only to realize that they are fighting someone far beyond their level."

"Even though this is a cunning tactic to use, I must attest to this proposal. As your obedience is rather…questionable as it stands. How are we to assume that you will obey orders from your commanding officer should we agree to this proposal?" Rebuked Barragan while narrowing his eyes at the blonde Arrancar in front of him.

Naruto, merely shrugged and replied. "I might display arrogance a majority of the time, but I'm willing to cooperate with my superiors if they are without a doubt stronger than myself. However, if you insist on me being one of these Espada, then when the opportunity arises just let me fill in that Arrancar's place."

Stark, who had his hands folded under his chin in thought, nodded silently. Kyuubi did have a few good points in his proposal. Shinigami would most definitely not suspect a low rank Arrancar to be so strong and thus, underestimate him, even if it's slightly it would still be enough for the Arrancar to at least gravely injure them or even kill them in that period of time. It would also give the blonde the time he needed to adjust to his new form while also gaining control over his abilities. All in all, the idea of the blonde becoming a _Fracción _was steadily becoming more and more acceptable than they once were.

However, there lye another issue that was in need of addressing. Should they decide to make him a _Fracción _who would he serve under? Many of the Espada either already had units or didn't have any need for them.

"It is settled then." Stated Stark calmly as he let out a sigh. "As of today, Kyuubi is now officially a _Fracción _unit of the Arrancar Army. If anyone wishes to recruit now, speak now otherwise Barragan and I will decide his placing ourselves."

None spoke for a moment as they debated on whether or not to recruit him. Nutria simply scuffed at the idea of having another annoying underling under his wing. True he could say that this one would prove more useful than Tesla, but he really didn't have the patience to deal with the blonde what so ever. Halibel wasn't all too willing to have the blonde join her either since she already had three with her and they proved to be powerful themselves so she really had no use for the blonde.

Aporro was currently weighing the options of having the Arrancar under his command. After what the blonde had displayed after Tessai had severed his arm, he had become interested as to what extent his regeneration capabilities could do. On the other hand, he doubted that Kyuubi would allow him to test out those abilities and could quite possibly kill him should he try. After his display against Grimmjow, he was willing to admit that the blonde was cunning and thus, could quite possibly kill him should he really make an attempt to. In the end, he decided against it, as the cons outweighed the pros in the decision.

Yammy just didn't care all that much about the blonde. In his eyes, the Arrancar was weak and the only reason that he was there in the first place was because Aizen favored him more than the others. His thoughts were similar to Aaroniero, who felt insulted that the blonde had almost taken a seat among the Espada despite the fact that he had been in Hueco Mundo for only a few days.

Grimmjow could only smirk a bit at the thought of having his rival under his command. Sure, he had five other _Fracción _under his command already but they already met with Kyuubi before. Not only that, but he could also gain himself a worthy sparring partner and not have to worry about injuring him too much since the former fox hollow could regenerate like no tomorrow.

Zommari scratched his chin in thought of having Kyuubi as his _Fracción. _Truthfully, he didn't have any units of his own under his command and, after witnessing his feat against Grimmjow, he was curious as to how powerful the man was. He knew well enough that strength alone was not what made a warrior and Kyuubi had proven this by those actions.

"No one?" asked Stark one last time.

Zommari nodded to himself as he made his decision while across from him Grimmjow smirked. Both were about to speak when Starks attention, along with Barragan's, turned towards the pale man who had stood up from his seat and was staring directly at Stark.

"I shall recruit him." Spoke the man in the same monotone voice as always while staring blankly into the lazy Espada's eyes.

This action actually drew everyone's attention towards the man as, from the time he had become an Espada, he had never recruited anyone. Even when some of the more talented Arrancar were offered, he had never spoken a word. Mind you, he could cooperate with other's among the Espada as Yammy and Grimmjow had both teamed up with him on a few occasions, but never had he chosen to have a _Fracción _unit under his command. Why, no one ever had the answer, and that was just how it was, no questions asked.

Yet Stark couldn't help but be pleased with the results of this. Part of him was still surprised that it was him that had chosen Kyuubi instead of Grimmjow or any of the other Espada. Though, he knew the man had his reasons for doing this, as he never did anything like this without one, but he couldn't dwell on it now. What's done is done and now that it was settled, he could end this meeting and get himself some well deserved sleep.

"Then it's settled." Replied Stark before turning his attention back towards Naruto, who was curious as to why everyone was looking so surprised at this. "Kyuubi, you are now under the command of Ulquiorra Cifer."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at his new…commander in curiosity. He had noticed the surprised looks on everyone's faces yet, he didn't see what was so surprising about this. The guy was powerful, that much was obvious since reiatsu was practically oozing off his body in waves. Yet, other than that, he could find nothing that stuck out as unordinary aside from the pale white skin.

"Kyuubi." Stated Ulquiorra, snapping him out of his train of thought. "We are leaving."

The blonde wasn't even able to respond as the pale man had scooted his chair back, and made his way towards the door. Scowling, Naruto raised out of his seat as well before following not far behind the man. After the sound of the door's slamming shut behind the two, Halibel glanced over towards Barragan questionably, who in turn, noticed this and turned his attention towards her.

"Is there something on your mind Halibel?" asked the aged Espada curiously.

"Merely curious as to why Ulquiorra would take Kyuubi as his_ Fracción. _It seems rather….uncharacteristic for him to do such a thing."

"Your concerns are misplaced Halibel. Indeed this occurrence is unexpected, but it seems to have still played into Aizen-sama's favor."

"Even so," murmured the woman to herself as she crossed her arms under her chest. "its still very sudden."

"That may be, but the issue is no longer of anyone's concern any longer." Replied Stark. "What's done is done, there is no longer a need to ponder such thoughts. This meeting is now adjured, you may all do as you please."

At that, the sound of multiple chairs screeching along the floor could be heard all throughout the room as the other Espada stood up from their respective seats. Grimmjow however, was scowling at the missed opportunity to recruit his former rival as he left the chamber while the others just thought that the meeting was rather pointless.

**With Naruto**

As Ulquiorra and Naruto finally exited from the tower, the blonde had been pondering many thoughts about the meeting. The biggest thing on his mind was about the man that was walking ahead of him. What made this guy so strong? What rank does this guy have? But the biggest question was how strong was this guy all together.

It was obvious that this guy was no push over. He could tell that, with the exception of a select few Espada, none of them were anywhere near his level in power. Hell, even a human could more than likely feel the staggering reiatsu that was coming off this guy. But, instead of finding an answer, it also provided more questions to him. If this guy was as strong as he guessed, why would he recruit someone like him?

Don't misunderstand, Naruto knew he was strong. But, at the moment he was the weakest he'd been in thousands of years as he had literally no idea what he was truly capable of anymore, what his abilities were in this form, or even how to control his reiatsu correctly yet.

'Oh no!' Thought the blonde franticly as his facial expression turned to that of pure horror. 'T-this means I'll have to do nine-hundred years worth of reiatsu control training all over again!'

"FUCK!" Yelled the blonde as he slammed his fist into the nearest object, which happened to be a withered tree which snapped in half and fell to the desert floor.

Ulquiorra, who hadn't been paying much attention to his newest recruit, turned around to stare at the sight of Naruto with his head hung low. It was at this sight, did Ulquiorra begin to doubt that choosing Kyuubi as his _Fracción _was a good idea.

* * *

Well, there you guys are. Hope this chapter isn't too boring but it needed to be done. Also, I don't want to hear any complaints about Naruto not being an Espada. He will be later, but not yet. And one last thing before I go, to those who've been waiting for my other story to update, don't worry its on the way and it should be up soon. R&R, flames will be pissed out and good reviewers get a cookie!


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